House of the Setting Sun 4: Not just a job title
by BattleKitten
Summary: The Scoobies first real threat in Boudenver coincides with an important calender date and proves that alas, Vampires do exist in Ohio. Faith's appeal is drawing closer. Can she last the distance? Some people are hoping she can't.
1. Chapter 1

So that's where the 'vampire' in vampire slayer comes from.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Co. own the characters that have appeared or been mentioned on either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. I own the ones that haven't.

Spoilers: Most likely lots.

Rating: 15

Distribution: Buffyworld.

Summary: Faith's appeal is coming up, but not everyone is on her side. Buffy and and the new Slayers take on a the first real threat they've faced in Boudenver, but luckily they have two familiar faces to help them along.

A/N: This the fifth 'episode' in my "House of the Setting Sun" series.

_Teaser_

Two girls walked through downtown Cleveland an hour before dawn searching for the bus depot in the hope that there would be a bus to a tiny little place called Boudenver within the next twenty-four hours.

There were other people going about their business on the dark streets and the more honest among them spared the young women a glance and worried if it was safe for them to be out at this hour. The less honest spared them a glance and wondered if they could be bothered to make them less safe.

Rona and Vi walked casually on oblivious to the attention.

"Africa was …something else." Rona was saying as they turned another corner. "The desert at night is…is nothing like the desert in California or Nevada. The sounds, the smells, it all felt so alien."

"So was it creepy?" Vi asked.

"Nah, that was the weird part. It felt like coming home, and I don't mean in a whack 'my ancestors were slaves' kind of way. I mean this power, our power, it felt like it was home – like it was at peace there…or something."

"Wow, that's pretty deep." Vi told her, impressed.

Rona chuckled. "Yeah well sitting in a freezing desert chanting with an eighty-six year old Laiboni and waving grass around and praying about cows is deep if nothing else. Deep what, I don't know yet. How was your summer?"

They turned onto another street and the African-American's eyes lit up when she spotted a DoubleMeat Palace place half way up the road. She'd been on planes or in airports constantly for the better part of two days and she was so sick of travel food.

Vi dragged her suitcase along on its little wheels and tried to keep up with Rona. "I went home and saw my folks. I thought it would be cool after not seeing them for so long and not even knowing if they were still alive or if they'd been got by the…" She broke off and did a stabbing hand gesture reminiscent of Norman Bates. "But it turned out to be a bit boring."

"Yeah well give me a month or two of boring and I won't be complaining."

They'd walked right up to the fast-food joints plate glass window. Inside was all lit up, but when Rona tried the door it wouldn't open.

"I don't think its open yet." The red-head said.

"Doesn't hurt to ask." Rona went and banged on the glass door.

A woman in her twenties looked up. Realising what they wanted, she shook her head and pointed to a closed sign in the window. Rona held her hands out to the sides and put on her best I'm hungry and all I've eaten for a day is stuff that comes in little tiny tinfoil trays' face, but the woman obviously didn't understand because she went back to her sweeping.

"Why do they do that? They're in there; they've got the grill fired up. How much would it actually cost them to just chuck a burger on it and stick it in a bun?" Moaned Rona.

A tall man passed them on the sidewalk and turned into the dark lot behind the restaurant. Rona turned her attention to him.

"Hey, come on, just a box of fries then, I can see them cooking from here. Come on I'm hungry".

The tall man looked down at the two Slayers. "Aren't we all." He said with a smile, it wasn't a very nice smile. "But that's all gonna change soon." He winked and disappeared into the shadowy blackness.

"Er Rona, do you feel funny."

"Yeah I do." She was staring after the tall man but now she turned to face the red-head and lowered her voice to barely more than a whisper. "We can take him. He's only one and we're two, what do you say?"

Vi nodded. Stakes materialised out of nowhere to be clenched tightly in sweaty fists. They started inching into the darkness of the parking lot, eyes straining for any movement in front of them. They had reached the rear entrance when they first heard the talking.

Rona swallowed. "Okay so there's two. One each, we've done this before."

Vi crouched down and peered around the corner to see how close the two vampires were. "Uh Rona." She whispered, her heart was battering away inside her chest so loud that she knew if any of the creatures bothered to listen they'd hear her. "It's a little more than one each."

Rona peered around the corner herself.

"Oh…"

Twenty feet in front of them, against the back wall of the lot stood close to thirty vampires. Four were in deep conversation with each other and the rest milled around obviously waiting for some command. Most of them were in game face and faint growls reached the girls crouched behind the wall.

"…crap."

"I think we should forget about the bus and get a cab." Whispered Vi, her voice hoarse with panic. "I think we should go get Buffy."

They both backed away just before a polite voice, given a slight lisp due to the fangs, called. "Did anyone smell anything unsavoury just then?… No, oh well, must just be me."

The prison gym was alive with the sounds of grunting. Add to this the soft rhythmic thumping and occasional loud bang and anyone might wonder just what was going on in there. The guard standing by the door didn't seem to be to put off by it though; in fact he was looking pretty red in the face over the whole shebang.

Faith tried to ignore him as she pulled Janey off the floor.

"That was better, but ya still leaving yourself wide open after ya kick."

Janey bounced on the balls of her feet a little. "Yeah but if I get him in the jaw with a kick like that then he's going down. I mean you didn't, but we're stronger than them, right?"

Faith fell into combat stance as she answered. "Yeah we are, but even if you take one out with a good move, that still leaves his friend or maybe ten of them to come at you. And you are not going to stand a chance if you're still all off balance from one little kick." She shook her hair out of her eyes, wishing she'd bothered to put it in a pony tail. "Right, let's try again and this time make it so's you land on top."

They started sparring again, both so intent on it that they didn't notice the three faces looking through the barred, dirty window.

Lol wiped some more of the scum off the pane. "Looks like they're trying to learn some self-defence moves." She chuckled, it was a cold sound. "Which we get to pound outta them. Who said the joint ain't jumping."

One of her constant, thick-necked companions wiped her own circle on the glass to see better. "I dunno Lol. They both look pretty handy to me."

"Yeah well that's because they're fighting each other. You don't have to be any good to beat on someone as useless as yourself."

Lolitta's other hench-monkey was standing to the other side of her, her back to the windows as she picked thoughtfully at her teeth with a sliver of wood. "Faith never used to be weak-ass shit. I wanna know what's changed."

Lol looked at her. "She wants to get outta here and so she's playing the good little inmate. We're gonna make her forget about that."

"So what, we just keep on until she snaps and breaks something of ours?"

"You'd prefer it if I broke something of yours." Lol growled.

The tooth picker just carried on picking.

"We keep on until she snaps so hard and fast that I can guarantee she'll never get out of this place." Lol looked from one minion to the other. "And if she has to kill one of you to guarantee that, so be it."

There was a quiet little snap as a piece of wood broke between two teeth.

"What do you want us to do?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Act one_

Kennedy came sliding down the hallway from the front door on her socks. "Wheee."

She smacked into the side of Andrew's chair, catching it before it tipped over. "Hey!"

"Wheee!" Dawn smacked into Kennedy's back, causing her to fall against Andrew and the chair tipped over landing all three of them on the floor in an almighty crash.

"Hey!" Snapped Andrew again, louder this time but muffled by the weight of both Kennedy and Dawn on his head.

"Hey yourself." Replied Kennedy, getting to her hands and knees which sent a giggling Dawn even further to the floor. Standing she grabbed Andrew by the wrist and yanked him up too.

"I'm so glad Giles insisted on getting all the floors polished before he went away." Said Willow dryly. She picked another plate from the drainer and started to dry it.

"That's probably why he wanted it done before he went away because he knew all the fun we'd be having with it." Said Xander. "When's he going anyway?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Andrew rubbed the side of his head where it had connected with the kitchen floor.

"Shh." Willow put her finger to her lips to quiet him down.

"She can't hear us Will, she's upstairs in the shower."

"Just let's not talk about it. This can't be very easy on her and I don't want her upset by us being big-mouths." Willow dried another plate.

"She's a big girl. I think she can handle it."

"If you want a return to sulky, miserable, not-very-nice Buffy then go ahead and say something. Personally I don't."

Kennedy slid up the hall again and caught hold of the back of Andrew's chair to stop herself before she smacked into the kitchen cupboards and Willow. Leaning over, she gave the witch a quick kiss. "I'm with you, Baby. Buffy's actually tolerable now, let's keep it that way."

Willow scolded her with a finger wagged under her nose, but she couldn't help smiling just a little.

"You people talking about me again." Buffy's voice came down the stairs followed by the Slayer herself.

"Nu-huh, not me, not us." Said Willow quickly.

Dawn whizzed down the corridor on her socks heading for Andrew's chair, the kitchen cupboards or Willow, which ever got in her way first. Turned out to be Buffy, who caught her sister around the waist. Dawn's momentum and the slippy, polished floor meant they did a half circle together before they stopped fully.

"I so have to try this." Xander kicked his shoes off and hurried up the hall.

"Dawn, does this look like a skating rink?" Buffy asked, not letting go of her.

"Kennedy did it too?"

"Cheers rat." The young Slayer smirked.

Buffy smirked too, Kennedy and Dawn had seemed to be getting each other into scrapes all week, but the sliding thing did look like fun. If only she was Dawn's age again and could get away with stuff like that.

"Tell you what. Slip and slide as much as you like, but lets keep it for non-busy times like straight after breakfast when everyone's in here so we can avoid any…"

"Geronimooooooooooo." Xander slammed into Andrew's chair, tipping it so hard that he went over the top of the blonde man and both of them flew into Buffy and Dawn. With Buffy's arms still around Dawn's waist she didn't have time to catch either of them, or even react before all four were bowled into Kennedy and then Willow whose slippy hands lost their grip on the stack of plates she'd been about to put away and flying crockery crashed to floor around them.

"…Accidents."

* * *

Everyone had picked themselves off of the kitchen floor and after rubbing their sore patches and mock-glaring at Xander, they carried on as normal.

Xander was sheepishly sweeping up the broken crockery when a car pulled up outside. He stopped to look out the window, Kennedy, who was sitting at the kitchen table, got up to look too.

"It's a taxi." He said.

"It is. Wonder who…" She cut her words off when she saw who was getting out of the back doors. "So cool."

She ran out the back door bare foot, 'ouching' as the pebbles dug into her soft flesh, and grabbed Rona in a Slayer-strength hug, Rona returned it chuckling.

"Are you really that pleased to see us?"

"Are you kidding? This place is so dull I'd be happy to see my old maths teacher." She quipped. "Not that there isn't other reasons I'm pleased of course. It'll be good to have the gang back together."

Vi finished paying the driver and accepted her own hug from the short Slayer. "Yeah well we've got some news that should make things more exciting."

Xander had come down the back step from the rear door and smiled widely at the two ex-potentials.

"Good to see you girls. Come on in to the house of madness."

They grinned and dragged their bags past him and in through the door.

"Make yourselves comfortable." He offered. "Juice, tea, soda?"

They both chose soda's and sat at the kitchen table looking weary but happy to be there.

"So spill?" Kennedy asked sitting across from them. "What's the excitement?"

"We need to speak to Buffy; really, she'd know what to do." Said Vi.

"Buffy's taking Dawn to school right now, but she shouldn't be long." Said Xander.

"Okay well it's like this, we were in Cleveland waiting to get a bus and Rona wanted a burger..." Began Vi, and paused for drum roll.

"Okay, gotta say dramatic tension is really building after that statement." Said Xander.

"We found some vampires, a lot of vampires." Rona finished bluntly.

"How many are we talking?" Kennedy's interest was piqued; she was itching for something to do.

"Lots." Vi looked around the kitchen, taking in it's family like feel, even though they'd only been living here a little while "I think I counted about twenty."

"I'm thinking closer to thirty, but it was dark and they were all sorta clumped together so it was hard to tell." Rona looked around the kitchen too, hoping someone had left some food lying around.

"We were going to try and do something ourselves but then when we saw how many there were…"

"No you did the right thing." Xander told them.

"Yeah." Agreed Kennedy, sounding official. "A dead Slayer is a useless Slayer."

Rona raised an eyebrow. "Well yeah."

Giles came from the front of the house, his shoes sounding loud on the wooden floor. He called ahead of him. "Post is here…and what was that God-awful crash I heard while I was in the shower?" He came into the kitchen his eyes still on the envelopes in his hand.

"That would have been me." Xander raised a hand, sheepish again.

Giles looked over at him, with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. "Ah that explains everything." He said dryly.

"Hey Giles."

The Watcher turned, surprised at the sound of Vi's voice, but he quickly recovered and smiling warmly, stepped to the table and shook first Vi's hand and then Rona's. "Hello, it's good to see you both. Did you find the house okay? We're a bit hidden away out here."

"Yeah, well the difficult bit was getting to the cab with out turning into vamp food." Rona told him.

"Pardon?"

"They found vamps, Giles. Sounds like it could be a whole pack of them." Kennedy filled him in.

"Ah, well I guess you'd better give me the details." He went to brew some tea, stepping carefully around the big piles of broken plates while giving them a bemused look.

Xander followed his gaze and jumped up to finish the job. "I'm on it."

Giles offered the back of his head a rather strained smile before saying to Kennedy. "There's a letter in that pile for you."

"Is there? Cool." She went to flip through the envelopes on the counter.

Giles poured his tea and returned to sit at the table himself. "Right girls, why don't you start at the beginning and tell me everything you remember."

* * *

Buffy pulled slowly up to the curb at the front of the school. "Someone'll be here to pick you up at three, okay."

"I might be able to catch a ride with Fen, she goes my way anyway." Said Dawn, making to get out of the car.

"No someone'll pick you up, just to make sure." Buffy was firm.

Her younger sibling rolled her eyes. "Please Buffy, don't do the whole over-protective thing again. I know things were bad and I handled it all wrong, but it's been a whole week and nothing's tried to eat me, sacrifice me or…come on to me since. This school is safe now, safe and boring."

"Thanks to you." Said Buffy with a hint of pride in her voice. "Not that you are ever allowed to pull something like that again." She finished sternly.

"I know. I know. I know." Dawn asserted, before turning wide, inocent eyes to her sister. "So can I catch a ride with Fen. Her car is way cooler than this thing."

"No Dawn, someone'll pick you up. It's not an over-protective thing it's a guilt thing. My guilt…for neglecting you."

Dawn rolled her eyes again. "Great, so to make up for your guilt I get stuck with quality time in crappy mom mobile."

"Hey!" Said Buffy, hurt.

Dawn winced at the tone. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm all for quality time. You don't have to feel guilty though Buffy, you were all heart-broken and stuff. I remember how crazy I was over RJ," she smiled, "and that was just a spell. You were going through it for real."

Buffy smiled at her with out speaking for a moment, then she nodded. "Thank you."

"Oh God, I just brought it all up again, didn't I? Willow told me not to…"

"Dawn it's fine. Now go to school before you're late." Buffy made a shooing gesture with her hands.

"Yeah the last thing I want is another detention." The brunette kissed her on the cheek and opened the car door…quickly she swung it shut again. "Quick, drive, go 'round the block."

Buffy sat there confused. "What, no, why?" Peering out the windshield she looked up the sidewalk and saw a vaguely familiar figure walking down. "Ooh isn't that the odd boy who helped you?"

"Yes, now go before he sees us."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise I'll have to walk into school with him and every time I see him, since then it's been all weird and awkward."

"Like?"

"Like when I tried to thank him and he just didn't care, but he didn't leave either, he just stood there staring and I stared back and it was a whole stupid staring thing and Fen made fun of me and it's been like that in class and the halls ever since, and I don't need to start my day like that." Dawn was breathing heavy by the time she'd got that sentence out.

Buffy was barely paying attention. "I should really go and talk to him, find out who he is…or what he is."

"No you can't." Squealed Dawn, as they both watched him pass the car and head up the path to school.

"Why not, it's my job to deal with non-humans." Buffy pointed out.

"Not anymore! You're retired, remember?"

Buffy pouted. "Oh yeah. Still it could be, like, community service or something."

"Buffy, you can't go terrorising my fellow students. You're not school counsellor anymore."

"I guess your right." The blonde turned to her sister. "You can do it, not the terror part, just speak to him, find out what his story is."

"Did you not just hear me say I can't speak to him? That he's weird?"

"No. Now go on, I just heard the bell."

* * *

When Buffy entered the kitchen thirty minutes later it was to quiet chaos. Books were strewn across the large kitchen table with Giles and Xander pouring over them, Willow had pulled a tall stool over to the counter and was working on her laptop from there.

"Okay, this doesn't bode well." She said with a smile. Secretly she was pleased at the sight of a research party, not for the actual research of course, but it did bring back fond memories.

"Hey Buffy."

"Hey Buffy."

The blonde Slayer jumped at the two voices coming out of nowhere and looked around for the source. Vi popped into view.

"Hey, where'd you spring from?" She looked around Xander's chair to see Rona lying against the bottom cupboard, a big book on her lap, her eyes half closed. She looked up long enough to give Buffy a little wave.

"It seems that we have a new threat on our hands." Giles told her.

"Threat, ha we laugh in the face of threats."

"Yes Xander. Rona and Vi encountered rather a large group of vampires last night."

"Are you guys okay?"

Vi nodded, Rona grunted or it could have been a snore. "Long flight." Vi explained. "We were pretty scared. We thought we were following one, you know, but it turned out to be a lot more than one. We've told Giles everything."

"Yeah so now we're doing the usual. Checking the "What's on." Pages for undead day trips and the like." Xander filled her in. "Word has it that the Hellmouth Annual Holiday may be coming up and all the vampires are bringing their families out here to have picnics and watch the evil fireworks."

Giles gave the young man a stern look. "When you have quite finished, I'll get to the point."

Xander held up his hands, palms out, in a placating gesture and went back to his boring book. Buffy sunk down in the chair next to the chastised carpenter and gave her Watcher her full attention. "Hit me Giles."

"Buffy do you remember the circumstances under which Spike first came to Sunnydale?"

Buffy paled a little and took a moment before answering. "Uh…yeah. It was to kill the Slayer…to kill me."

"No, I'm sorry; I meant what was going on at the time, the important calendar event that we were researching when he first made himself known."

"Ooh, ooh I know." Piped up Xander. "It was parent teacher night at school. Spike gate-crashed."

"Yeah. Mom hit him over the head with an axe, it was so funny." Buffy joined in.

"Joyce was the best." Agreed Xander, smiling fondly.

"The Feast of St. Vigeous?" Asked Willow from the counter.

"Who?" Asked Xander and Buffy together. Vi looked on with equal confusion. Rona snored quietly on the floor.

"The Feast of St. Vigeous." Giles confirmed. "A night when…"

"No I remember." Said Buffy. "It's coming back to me. Something about a vampire crusade that travelled around leaving a blood bath behind them. Well we stopped it once, when I was just a little bitty Slayer, we can stop it again."

"We never actually stopped it before though. Spike pounced before the big night and you decimated the Master's numbers so much it never happened." Willow reminded her.

"Oh yeah, but still…"

"Buffy, I'm afraid that's not all. This year the Feast of St. Vigeous lands on the same night as "La Notte Aumentera"."

"And that is..?" Asked Xander, beating Buffy to it by a split second.

"Loosely translated it means "The Night He Rises."

"Who?" Buffy got there first this time.

Giles shrugged. "As of yet I have no idea. According to my very rough copy of the Mesopotamian calendar, La Notte Aumentera is the one night in one hundred years that the stars and planets are in perfect alignment with…" He paused and looked at each of them in turn.

"With…?" Four people asked simultaneously.

"…The Hellmouth. The power surrounding the Hellmouth will be extremely great on this night. Making it very easy to open. I think these vampires are planning on raising someone, or more likely, something, very important."

"Something like this Vigeous guy?" Asked Buffy.

"Possibly, but while St. Vigeous was certainly bad in his day, you have defeated vampires far more capable than he. I believe they will attempt to raise some demon far stronger than that to help them celebrate their feast. Maybe more than one. With half of our books gone, swallowed by the earth, there is very little I can be sure of. Which is why it is essential we don't let them get as far as that."

"So what do we do?" Asked Vi. "I mean, where is the Hellmouth around here? Is it under the high school again?"

"No it's not, it's…" Buffy suddenly realised she didn't know where the Hellmouth was in these parts. She looked to Giles only to see that he too looked blank with a side of embarrassed.

"Looks like Top Watcher doesn't know everything, after all." Xander quipped.

"No, but I still know more than you." Giles shot back. "The location of these places isn't made public knowledge, not even to the Watcher's of Slayers. As you all know they are highly dangerous places and it's not unheard of for Watchers to go bad. I wasn't even aware of the exact location of the Sunnydale Hellmouth until that tentacled beast ripped up the bloody floor in my library." He sighed in frustration.

"S'okay Giles, I can look up the Council records and get it from there. They'd have maps and stuff wouldn't they? I mean, someone must know where it is." Willow started tapping on her laptop.

"You have access to the Council's confidential files?" Asked Giles.

Willow smiled sheepishly. "Well yeah, just a little something I was working on over the summer. I was going to tell you, but I…"

"But you…?" Giles prodded her.

"I was waiting for a chance to show Buffy the files they've got on her first. You know, in case you didn't let me."

"They have files on me?" Buffy sounded nervous and excited.

Willow nodded, pure excited. "Uh huh. Pages and pages." She sobered when she looked back at Giles. "Are you mad at me?"

"Hm, what? No, actually I'm delighted. This will make setting up the new order that much easier, I'm just wondering how…any of its left. I was still in London when the bomb went off, the building was decimated and when I was there a few weeks ago it didn't look much different."

The hacker shrugged. "They must have had back-up files some place else. It's not unusual." Rona happened to give a much louder snore just then. "Shouldn't we wake her up so she can go to bed?"

"No beds yet. The sleeping barn is all finished but the beds haven't arrived yet." Xander explained.

"But you knew Vi and Rona were coming today." Said Giles.

"Which is why the barn's done." Retorted Xander, slightly annoyed. "You ordered the beds, not me."

"I never ordered the beds." Giles responded. "No one told me I was ordering the beds."

"Guys, did anyone order the beds?" Asked Buffy.

Both men turned defiant faces towards her.

"Just great." She said rolling her eyes.

Vi stood up. "It's okay, really, we can sleep anywhere. It'll be just like old times. Except without the fear of imminent death, except there is." She shrugged and used her foot to shake Rona awake.

"Mmmgggl Get off my camel." Rona woke up to everyone staring down at her. "What?"

"I never touched your camel." Xander assured her seriously.

"Just don't get me started on the sand." She struggled wearily to her feet. "So do we know what the vamps want yet?"

"To bite us and drink our blood." Said Buffy helpfully. Rona just blinked at her. "On top of that we think they want to raise some demon or other to play Santa." More blinking.

Xander got up from the table. "Why don't I show you mine and Andrew's room and you can get some shut eye while Giles phones up about those beds? When you wake up we can fill you in on the plan." He started up the kitchen stairs and they both followed him gratefully.

Giles glared after him, clucking his tongue, then with a sigh he went to find the telephone book. While he looked through it for the number of the nearest and cheapest wholesale furniture store he reminded Willow about looking up the site of the Hellmouth.

"Will do Giles." She assured him. "Me and Buffy are just going to let Kennedy and the girls know what's going on."

He nodded distractedly as he dialled the number through.

Willow and Buffy left via the back door, giggling.

"One day Xander is going to make Giles' head explode, I just hope I'm there to see it" Giggled Buffy.

"I don't. The size of Giles' brains, they'd go everywhere." The red-head wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"True. I hadn't thought of it like that." Said Buffy.

Willow strode ahead of the blonde around the flower and herb patch, which was flourishing now, and through the hedge out into the back field that they had set aside for training.

Kennedy spotted her girlfriend coming through the gap in the hedge and called out a hello.

"Kennedy. We've got a code red." The Witch called back.

Kennedy nodded and started to walk over; as she did she slipped an envelope out of the waist band of her shorts. "Hey guess what I got in the mail. A letter from F…" She looked up in time to see Buffy come through the gap and her words stalled for a second, but she rallied. "Fate."

"Fate?" Asked Buffy confused, while Willow made frantic and, very obvious, hand gestures meaning put the damn letter away.

"Uh, yeah, you know, like the Lotto numbers." Kennedy improvised while shoving the letter back in her shorts and crumpling the envelope in her hand.

"Fate sent you a letter with the Lotto numbers in it?" The elder Slayer asked dubiously. "Well I hope you win." She sauntered on past Kennedy to debrief the rest of the girls on the little they knew so far.

Behind her Willow was shaking her head in reproof and Kennedy was silently arguing "What the hell was I supposed to say."

Buffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was nice that her friends cared enough to try and protect her, even though it wasn't necessary. If Faith wanted to write to Kennedy and not her then, well, screw it.

* * *

Faith walked through the metal gates into the cafeteria, grabbed a couple of trays from the stack at the end of the counter and got in line.

"I'm starving." Said Janey, from right behind her.

Faith smirked at her cellmate over her shoulder. All week they'd been training in the mornings and she had been filling the new Slayer in on details of her Calling and the little blonde was starting to act and think like a Slayer now, or as much as one that had never seen a real, dead vampire as it was possible to be, but she was also still the shy, scared seventeen year old thown into a maximum security prison for an accident that she had been the week before.

Despite thisher youthful exuberence just kept slipping out. It was a refreshing change to the general day-to-day despair that usually choked the place.

Faith grabbed some plates from the women working kitchen and inspected them both before placing the biggest on Janey's tray. "We'll grab something to eat, keep our energy levels up, then we got exercise. We can't really spar out there in front of everyone but we can do chin ups, or I don't know – play some B- ball, theres always a few pick up games goin' on."

"Can we run laps?" Asked the eager youngster.

Faith laughed. "Sure. Might look a little funny, but hey, who cares right?"

"Its not like you have to worry about that Faith, you'll be out of here in a few days, so who cares what anyone thinks." Janey sounded sad and it made Faith frown, the dark Slayer saw the blonde's knuckles go white as she gripped the tray.

"Don't break it." She said in a low voice nodding to the tray. She saw Janey consiously make herself relax and continued. "Anyway, theres no guarantees. Things might go belly up on Thursday and you'll be stuck with me for the next ten plus years." She pointed out a table and they made their way towards it.

"That's not likely though is it Faith. I saw the way you were smiling after the appointment with your Lawyer yesterday."

Faith shrugged. She couldn't deny that Gunn had, had nothing but good things to say when he had visited. It seemed like the appeal was coming along nicely and the court appearance was just going to be a formality. Unless of course they got a judge and jury that just really didn't like her, or any of the people representing her. Or she fouled up between now and then, got herself in trouble and sent to solitary or worse. That would pretty much confirm the judicial system's opinion of her as being rotten to the core and her good girl routine an act to get away with her crimes. But if she kept her nose clean for just another two days and won the jury over with her sparkling personality then she might just manage to pull off her own miracle snowstorm.

She spoke over her shoulder to Janey who was trailing behind her through the tables. "Yeah well if I go I'm gonna make sure you're not far behind- ooof." Faith's head snapped back to the front to see what she'd banged into.

Lolittla had caught the edge of her tray and pushed it back hard into Faith's stomach. She looked like she thought it was a great joke. Faith's mind started up the mantra "Two more days, two more days, two more days" as she looked calmly back at the madly grinning Italian-American woman.

"What?" She asked, trying to keep her voice even and not failing too dismally.

"Just catching up with an old friend. Word has it you'll be going soon. I wouldn't want you to leave without something to remember me by."

"And what would that be Lol?"

Lolitta looked up at the ceiling for a second as if seriously considering the question, before meeting Faith's steely gaze with a shark-like grin. "Oh I dunno, I was thinking some broken bones, maybe a dismemberment or two."

Faith shook her head in a pitying way and tried to walk around her without a word, but the bigger woman still had a firm hold on her tray and now pushed it hard into Faith's stomach.

Faith felt the edge of the tray dig into the skin under her breasts but she didn't move backwards, it was like pushing against a solid wall.

Lol's grin turned to a snarl. "I don't know what happened to you Wilkins to make you think you're so much better than the rest of us, but it's a lie. You were scum the day you first walked in here, and you always will be. Weak, pathetic scum." She hissed and slapped her palms on the underside of the tray causing it to tilt upwards and spill its contents over the dark Slayer. Hooting and clapping broke out around the cafeteria.

Faith very slowly let the now empty tray fall from her hands before she had a chance to bring it down on Lolitta's fat, ugly head and took a step back out of reach. For the other woman's safety.

Janey had no such qualms. Already drunk off the power of the Slayer and juiced from training all morning, she surged past Faith and nearly managed to punch Lolitta right on the nose before the dark Slayer took in what was happening and grabbed her loose collar, dragging her back sharply.

"Hey chill, she's not worth it." Faith said calmly, the muscles in her arms were standing out with the force of keeping Janey at her side.

Lol and her pals were laughing openly and quite a few inmates at surrounding tables were joining in. Before Faith had made her escape most of these women had been scared of her, or at least respectful enough to look the other way when she was around, but the balance of power had shifted. They'd all either seen or heard about how she'd been taking regular beatings from Lolitta and they figured she'd gone soft. She was no threat to them now.

Janey was still struggling to get out of her grip and Faith snapped. "Will you cut it out and stand still." Before shoving her behind her out of the way.

"Aw, isn't that cute. Wilkins has got herself a little guard dog." Lol mimicked reaching out to pat Janey's head.

Janey knocked her hand away growling. "Don't touch me."

Which just made Lol laugh even louder.

"Guess Faithy needs protection now she's too weak-assed to look out for herself." Said one of the henchwomen who had been standing watching the show with apparent amusement, although it was difficult to tell if she was smiling widely or the victim of an horrible disfigurement.

The other one chimed in with: "Such a pretty little bitch though, she's wasted on that piece of s…"

"Shut your mouth, ape-woman, before I come over there and help ya." Faith cut her off.

"Like you could." Hooted Lol. The commotion had gathered most of the cafteria around it now, and finally two guards began wandering over to see what the fuss was all about. Lol saw them over Faith's shoulder and decided it was time to make a move. She walked away from the scene, through the tables, and as she did she called back over her shoulder. "Be seeing ya, Wilkins, don't think you're going without getting a kiss goodbye."

Faith shook her head at her retreating back and looked down at herself. She seemed to spend more time covered in food in here than she could remember doing as a baby. Not that she could remember all that much about feeding times as baby what with the baby sized memory and the general lack of baby food, but she'd seen pictures.

Everyone else had turned back to eating leaving Faith and Janey just standing there when the guards arrived.

"You, Wilkins, are a mess. Go get cleaned up. You're due outside in ten minutes. You, eat. Unless you both want to spend the afternoon in your cell." The guard issued instructions and the two women complied.

* * *

Faith cleaned the mess off her top, muttering to herself the entire time. "If I don't get out of here come Thursday, I'm gonna break her big, bumpy nose all over her fat, screwed up face and I'm gonna make her beg me to hit her a little harder just so's she can get knocked out and forget about the pain."

Screwing up all the rage she felt twisting inside her, she pushed it down into a little pocket inside herself and tried to relax. One way or another she'd be releasing it soon enough. She just had to wait until Thursday. Until then, she had to keep herself calm aand ignore Lolitta's taunts. She gripped the edge of the tiny metal sink so hard the stainless steal buckled under her fingers. Keeping her hands clenched that way she looked her reflection in the eye and breathed out deeply. She could do this.

* * *

Rona and Vi were still sleeping peacefully upstairs, Andrew was out for a walk with Goorzar the demon baby, Dawn was still at school and the sounds of the four new Slayers being put through combat training by Buffy and Kennedy floated through the open back doors along with a pleasant breeze.

The atmosphere in the kitchen complimented this nicely with just the whispery sounds of old pages being turned and the tap tap tap of fingers on keyboard buttons.

Xander smiled at Giles as he got up from the table to fetch a beer from the fridge. Giles returned it warmly, feeling quite content in the serene space.

A moment later the book on twelth century middle Eastern cults he had been browsing through jumped out of his hands to land with a crash on the table in front of him, as a heavy "Nirvana" base line rocked its way through the kitchen.

Giles' glasses almost flew off his face to join the book as he spun around in his seat to glare at Xander who was still at the fridge jigging in time to the music while sipping on a beer and tearing chicken from a plate.

"Xander what on Earth do you think you are doing?"

The young man looked at Giles like he was stupid. "I was hungry. Did you want some?" He held the plate with the chicken on out to him.

The English man waved it away like it was emitting poisonous fumes instead of yummy ones. "I meant with the radio. A little warning next time would be nice and turn it down none of us is deaf, although we may be after that racket."

Xander looked over at Willow, who shrugged, then leaned over to flick the volume button down a few notches. "I just thought, you know, it's not like we're in a library doing this stuff anymore, or like we have customers or neighbours to worry about. We could let loose a little bit.

"Let loose on your own time." Replied Giles picking up the book and trying to find his place in the small writing that covered the pages.

"This is my time." Retorted Xander.

"Then if you can't use it sensibly use it else where. Some of us are trying to work out what kind of monster is going to be trying to kill you all in a few days time."

Xander threw himself back in his chair. "Sorry." He muttered sarcastically, before opening a book at random and reading from it in between sips from his bottle of beer.

Giles clucked his tongue but said nothing more.

The carpenter shifted in his chair so his good eye was facing Giles. "What do you mean, trying to kill 'us' all, where's the 'you' in that statement?"

Giles' glasses came off for a cleaning bout before he answered and focused once again on the page. "I'll be in L.A. of course."

"You're still going?" He asked surprised.

"He needs to go Xander, he's a character witness." Said Willow quietly. She'd had this conversation with Giles even before the new vampire threat had come up.

"Yeah but, I could see why before, a flight to L.A. curteousy of Wolfram and Hart, a couple of nights in a posh hotel, plenty of time to see the sights, but now we have something important going on don't you think that should come first?"

"And you think this threat is more important than Faith's future, her life?" Asked Giles, genuinely curious.

Xander's look was his answer.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Xander; surely after all these years you have learned that."

"She had her second chance and she blew that too." Xander said steadily, his eye not leaving the older man's. "Maybe she deserves a third chance somewhere, but not here."

"Breaking Buffy's heart is not a reason to condemn the girl for ever, Xander. She should be here with us. This is where she belongs." Insisted Giles. "At least for the time being."

"Well we'll have to agree to disagree." Xander tried to shrug it off. "It's not like she's got much chance of getting out anyway what with all the things she's done."

"Actually Wesley says she has a pretty good chance, especially with her place…" Giles trailed off unsure whether to tell Xander everything.

"Go on Giles, he'll have to know sometime." Willow encouraged him.

"I'll have to know what?" Xander's head turned from side to side so her could see first Willow and then Giles.

"When, or if, she is released she has been offered a place here. Officially, I mean. Letters have been sent to the court through Angel's law firm. There is a greater chance of her being released if she has somewhere positive to go on to. A loving family, an institute of learning, anywhere that increases her chances of staying on the straight and narrow."

"In other words, somewhere exactly like this." Filled in Willow.

"Yes. It would be one of the conditions of her parole I believe that she stays with us for a certain amount of time."

"And you really think that would make her hang around if she didn't want to?" Xander almost laughed. "Hang on a minute, does Buffy know about this offer, these conditions?"

Giles nodded. "Yes, but she's of the same mind as you. That Faith will leave as soon as she gets bored."

"And Buffy's okay with that? Her staying here I mean?" Xander asked incredulously.

"When you hurt Anya and she turned back into a vengence demon again and wanted to liquify your entrails. Did she ever stop loving you?"

Xander looked like he might burst into noisy sobs at the mention of Anya's name but he got Willow's point and nodded sombrely, before finishing his bottle and going for another.

Willow looked guilty for causing Xander pain, but shook it off. In her opinion Anya wasn't mentioned anywhere near enough to be healthy. He drank and he worked and he partied and he tried to act like the same old Xander, but a part of him was just not there anymore and he seemed happy to live like that, no maybe happy was the wrong word, more like resigned to living like that. Okay so when Tara had died she'd tried to end the world, which some would say was unhealthy, but at least she hadn't bottled it up and pretended everything was okay.

Turning back to the screen she spotted something of interest , finally. "Giles, I think I've got it."

He looked up at her. "A location?"

"Not as such, but a map reference. C-11. and then a link to another site. Hang on I'll click on it." She did and they all waited to see what came up. "Okay. Here's a map. Right. C-11."

Giles and Xander had both come to stand behind her. She pointed to the relevant square on the screen and they were all disappointed.

"Nothing." She said in disgust. "It's just plain open ground."

"Hey look, here we are." Said Xander excitedly, breathing alcohol all over the hacker. He pointed with his finger to a property marked on the map as "Sunset Camp."

"And there's the village." Giles pointed to another square just to the south-east of the camp.

Willow pointed her slim finger to another area just north of that. "And there's Dawn's school."

"So we know that the Hellmouth is somewhere between those three points, more or less in the middle." Summed up Xander.

"Yes unfortunately that's still about fifteen square miles of ground to cover, some of it hilly and some of it wooded." Giles reminded them. "I think a group of us should head out now and try to pin-point it further."

"Right well I'll round up the troops and bring the truck around." Offered Xander.

Giles' eyes flickered to the bottle still in the younger man's hand and then back up to meet his eye. Moving his mouth into a smile as he did so. "No Xander I think you should stay here in case of…just in case the beds arrive." Giles reached for his jacket as Willow powered down the laptop and reached for her own.

"You said they were arriving tomorrow." Said Xander suspiciously.

"Yes but Tuesdays are probably a slow day." He improvised. "And it would be a shame to miss them."

"Andrew's still out too and we can't leave the house unlocked with no one here." Added Willow as she followed Giles out the back door. "We'll be back soon."

Xander drained the beer before reaching into the fridge for another. "The house wouldn't be empty. Vi and Rona are upstairs." He muttered sulkily as he ripped some more chicken from the bony carcass and spun the radio dial back up to high volume as the new truck disappeared around the side of the house loaded with girls and Giles.

* * *

The man-hole cover in the middle of the street lifted slightly and two yellow eyes peered out.

"It's still light outside." The owner of the eyes said in a thick European accent.

"That's what the cloaks are for." This voice was American, East Coast. "Now get out, it stinks down here."

The owner of the eyes thrust the cover up and away from the hole and jumped out and ran like hell for the shelter of some nearby pines.

Three other figures all jumped out after him and dashed in the same direction. The three huddled together in the late afternoon sunlight, their cloaks were a deep midnight blue that covered them from head to toe, with just a gap in the heavy material for them to see through.

"Is this the place then?" Asked East Coast guy.

Another cloaked guy with an effeminate pitch to his voice said. "I don't know, it doesn't look very evil. It looks too pretty to be evil."

European guy looked around at the, indeed very pretty, place they'd found themselves in and sniffed. "I've no idea. Carlos and Elgan were supposed to be checking all of this out but they had a run in with the Slayer."

"There's Slayer's around here?" The East Coast guy had lost some of his brashness now and was sounding a little worried.

The fourth figure had yet to speak but she decided now was the time to do it. "A Slayer will not matter to our plans. Once He rises an army of Slayers couldn't stop us."

The effeminate guy laughed. It was high-pitched like his voice and guaranteed to grate nerves. "An army of Slayers. Everyone knows there's just one. Where do you get these ideas Meleusa."

"Actually there's two." Said East Coast guy, sure in his knowledge.

Meleusa's yellow eyes rolled beneath the cover of the cloak. One day she'd get decent minions, although if He rose she wouldn't need minions, the whole world would be laying at her feet.

The European guy got her attention and parting some branches of the tree they were nestled against he pointed through to the big stone building behind the scattered lines of gravestones. "Do you think that could be the place?"

She gave it an appraising up and down before running gracefully to the deep recess which served as a porch. The other three followed her obediently. "Could be" She agreed looking up at the rich carved stone work that formed the arched roof, looking for a sign that this was the place.

"Hey Meleusa." Said the camp guy, pulling the welcome mat aside and wiping his fingers distastfully on his robe.

She looked down to see what he had found and there on the wide, stone porch step was a symbol very much like a deformed goat's head. She pushed the hood of her cloak back for a better look. In a circle around the symbol were the words.

Praecaveo cunctus adiunctor intro hic quantas via hades!

The dot below the exclamation mark was a blood red stone which was in the place of the goats eye. Meleusa smiled. It would have been a nice smile if it weren't for the fangs.

"This is the place, this is the place He shall rise. Let's get the others prepared. Tomorrow night…we feast!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Act two_

Dawn reluctantly waved goodbye to Fen and made her way to the open-bed truck waiting for her. She knew people were looking, more like everybody was looking, and she was so going to kill her sister for putting her through this.

"This is her way of getting me back for this morning." She muttered to herself as she smiled weakly at a group of cute guys who were grinning her way.

Willow leaned out of the drivers' window and got her attention. "Hi Dawnie, you wanna sit in the front with us or the back with the animals." She grinned. "It's a bit cramped in here but we can manage."

"You can sit in the stairwell with our feet." She heard her sister call.

Dawn had been about to opt for the front thinking it would be less embarrassing, but her sister made her change her mind. She grimaced at the red-head.

"I'll take cattle over your feet any day, Buffy." She called out, changing direction for the back of the truck.

Kennedy had already jumped out and was opening the tail-gate for her. "Hey Dawn, how was school?" She asked, helping her in.

"Mainly average until this. I know Buffy never got to have the normal school-life thing but does she really have to inflict it on me too. I mean why didn't she just make a float out of paper flowers and get Bobo the clown to pick me up in that. It would have been less attention grabbing."

"Aww lighten up, it's fun." Said Miranda as Dawn took a seat on the little wooden benches Xander had fitted into the back himself.

"I feel like I'm in a chain-gang, going out to bust rocks or paint that white line down the centre of the highway." Dawn pouted.

Kennedy shut the back up again, hopped over the side to take her seat next to the whinging brunette. Alison slapped the roof of the cab and Willow pulled smoothly away from the curb.

"So what's the what anyway?" Asked Dawn. "When Buffy said she wanted to pick me up to spend some quality time together I thought she just meant me and her, not the whole house."

"We have a situation." Said Cici. "A code red.

Kate looked thoughtful before asking. "Is a code red as serious as it gets, 'cause if it is, shouldn't we be a bit better prepared. I mean I know we're strong, but are we really ready for a code red."

Miranda looked nervous now. "Yeah, maybe we should start off with a code baby pink or soft orange."

"We'll be fine." Alison reassured the rest of the new girls. "It's daylight, the vampires can't come out in the day time. That's right isn't it?" She looked to Kennedy and Dawn.

Dawn nodded. "Yep. So that's it? A few vampires don't make a code red."

There was obvious sighs of relief from all the new girls except Alison.

"Vi and Rona found a whole lot of them in Cleveland and Giles thinks they're going to raise some big bad ass demon from a Hell dimension. Plus there's this big vampire feast happening any night soon which they're all coming here to celebrate. Add to that the Hellmouth having a dear diary day. It's not a code red yet, but Giles wants us to squash it before it can become one. Which is why the Slayer force is out in, uh, force." Said Kennedy.

"Vi and Rona are here?" Dawn squealed enthusiastically, missing the rest of it entirely.

* * *

"So where are we heading exactly." Asked Willow as she drove away from the school.

Giles looked out of the passenger window and fought the urge to shrug. "I'm not sure exactly. Without the aid of a positive location to work with I'm afraid our best bet is trial and error."

"Which is pretty much all we've ever really had to start with." Buffy reminded them from her seat in the middle.

"That may be so Buffy, but we still had a large number of books on our side and a less impressive, but still bigger than present, number of contacts to engage."

"And bribe…"

"And threaten…"

"And frighten…"

"And eventually punch."

Buffy and Willow grinned at each other.

"Precisely." Said Giles dryly. "And now we don't, which makes things harder than I would like them to be, especially with my going away tomorrow." He glanced sideways at Buffy, but she didn't react, at least not outwardly. "I don't like to leave you without a clear plan of attack."

"We'll be fine Giles. Kennedy is just itching to do some dusting and it's about time the new girls had a proper work out. This town isn't really bad enough to keep all of them busy. This will be just what they need to get a proper taster of being a Slayer." Buffy told her Watcher.

"I know you're right, but none of them have had any battle experience. Watching you and Kennedy slay demons isn't enough to keep them safe in what is to come."

"I don't know Giles. All you did was 'Watch Buffy', and you're still here to tell the tale." Smirked Willow.

"I did more than watch Willow." Said Giles, sounding annoyed.

The red-head felt guilty for offending him and was quick to stammer. "I…I know…I just …meant it …in a funny way…like a…I know you did more than…you did lots of…"

Giles cut her off. "I got captured and used as currency more than once and lets not forget my penchant for being knocked on the head in the heat of a battle. I don't believe that was just watching."

"No and you did it all very well, especially the head hitting part." Willow was quick to convey her admiration at his ability to be knocked unconscious. Anything to avoid 'annoyed Giles' and atone for insulting him. She looked away from the road when she heard Buffy giggling. Giles was also smiling, his gaze directed out of the windshield still. She took a deep breath. "Hope you get knocked out in L.A. ya big meanie." She muttered then winced at the bad thought and smiled apologetically at him.

Giles just chuckled. "I'm just glad Vi and Rona turned up when they did. With the two of them and Kennedy all working together, the girls will hopefully be able to join the battle with the minimum amount of danger, but enough involvement to learn a thing or two from their peers. I trust you will be joining them too, Buffy." He said it like it was already a done deal but he couldn't be sure. While over the past week Buffy had willingly begun training the new Slayers in the training field, she had left the patrolling to Kennedy, only joining them for small periods of time each night before returning home to watch T.V with Xander and Dawn.

"I'll be there. If it's as bad as you say it is then I can't be anywhere else can I, but I'm only going for the new girls. Kennedy can head the attack or whatever we decide to do with Vi and Rona. I'll hang back and make sure the girls are safe. Back them up y'know so Kenny can concentrate."

Giles nodded. That would have to be good enough.

"Um, I still don't know where I'm heading." Willow reminded them.

Buffy pulled a map out of the glove compartment and handed it to Giles, who was himself pulling the map printed from the laptop out of his coat pocket. He put the two of them together and studied them. Buffy looked them over from his side.

"There's a small hamlet almost in the middle of the area we're looking at, maybe if we head there and spread out we'll find a clue." Giles suggested.

Buffy rolled her eyes. That didn't sound very promising but she made an appropriate agreeing noise and Willow said:

"Point me in the right direction and I'm there."

Giles issued directions as she drove and it wasn't long before they drove past a little wooden sign bearing the name "Pleasant Creek." Giles checked the map again and confirmed this was the place they were looking for. Willow pulled the truck to a stop just past the sign.

"It's like a little secret town." She breathed as they sat and looked around.

"Just don't say ghost town." Pleaded Buffy. "Ghosts are always so angsty and tortured, it's a drag."

"It doesn't look dead…" Willow began.

"Just peaceful." Giles ended.

"Well there's the first bad omen for this place right there." Quipped Buffy.

"It's perfectly possible that this place is naturally quiet, after all, it looks mostly untouched by tourism and it is out of the way of the main routes."

"Oooh look, ducks crossing the road." Willow squealed as up ahead a family of ducks crossed the road in front of them.

They both looked at the driver.

"What?" She defended herself. "They're cute."

"And probably demonic." The Slayer dead-panned.

They felt and heard everyone jump out of the back.

"Well demon ducks aside. I think we should split into teams of three, one of us heading each, and start looking for clues." Giles started to climb from the truck.

"And what exactly will these clues look like?" Buffy asked.

"Anything remotely resembling demonic activity." Giles said quickly.

Buffy pointed to the ducks. "Found it."

* * *

The back room was cluttered with boxes, trays and haphazard piles of cardboard day-glo signs. He kept meaning to clear it up but even in a thousand years there just never seemed to be the time. He'd much rather do these sorts of thing at home anyway, but evil struck when evil felt like it. And it felt like it right now.

He pulled out a deep, white-glazed pottery ash-tray with "Glastonbury 1982" hand painted on the side in wacky rainbow colours and filled it almost to the brim with water from a plastic jug. Next he sprinkled in a pinch of fine ochre powder and stirred it slowly with his finger. Leaning back he surveyed the results.

Inside the ashtray a scene began to take form.

_Two young women, one with fiery red hair and another with a long, straight sheet of dark brown falling over her face as she bends forward towards some ducks. They are both laughing as the waddling birds carry on their way oblivious to the attention. Another girl with hair so black it resembles midnight in a poetic sort of way stands off to the side. Alternating between longing looks at the ducks and more anxious looks around them, as if knowing they should be doing something else_.

"This is the force of great good?" He said to himself in disbelief.

He snapped his fingers and the scene changed.

_Two blondes. One short and one a little taller walk side by side through a maze of trees, talking. After a second a third girl comes into view behind them. Her mouth open to shout or squeal and both the blondes spin around battle ready. The third girl who has light auburn hair cut closely into her neck, points to the low weeds growing to the side of the path. The two blondes inspect, and then laugh before continuing to walk on. The auburn girl laughs along with them and follows_

He put his hand to his chin as he watched and then pulled it away again disgusted. He missed his beard, really missed it. You always knew where you were with a good beard. He'd thought countless times about re-growing it, but the styles the men wore these days just weren't the same. He sighed. Plus it would be impractical, getting caught in everything. And people no longer thought of food particles clinging to the hair as a sign of a good meal, now it was considered unhygienic.

He snapped his fingers again and stared into the ash-tray.

_A man, walking along yet another track between the trees. One girl, short with dark hair held high in a pony tail, was talking to him, but he appeared to be barely listening, instead studying a map with his finger tracing various random lines over it. As one they stop and turn back. The man's face shows interest as he walks back the way they came. The girl looks put out that she is being ignored but she follows him anyway. They stop beside a squatting girl with a head of short messy hair that she pushes out of her eyes while pointing at a five sided flat stone imbedded in the earth close to a tall Oak. The man gets excited, bending down and gesturing manically._

He smiled. Well they had found it. He was surprised. Would they know what it meant though, and would they be able to find the others, and if so would they find them in time.

Satisfied for the time being he snapped his fingers once again. He smiled.

"Ah, sports, that's more like it."

* * *

The ball whizzed through the air, looking like it was going to land perfectly in the big but fast woman's hands that were waiting for it, she jumped to catch it but her hands grabbed empty air and she landed back on her feet cursing.

Faith just grinned innocently at her, over her shoulder, as she dribbled the ball at speed back the other way. Seeing Janey open herself up some space she threw the ball in her direction hard enough to break a mere mortals wrist if they tried to intercept it. None of the other women did, they'd learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. Janey caught the ball and bounced it a few times on the spot, looking nervous as six women from the other team all crowded around her.

They pressed in, and panicking slightly she threw the ball to a woman with a large scar down one cheek who she vaguely remembered as being on the same side as her. The scarred woman caught it, but was immediately tackled and lost the ball. She looked pissed, but Janey was just pleased to have the attention away from her.

Faith grinned from the other side of the small court and took off after the ball once more. For the twentieth time in the game she jumped effortlessly and snatched the ball out of someone's grasp. She was loving this game. She dodged a thick set Hispanic woman and launched the ball back towards Janey once again. Normally she didn't dare play in these yard games in case people realised her supernatural speed and agility, not to mention the fact that she had hurt a few women in the past by being a bit forceful. With Janey playing too she knew she didn't have to worry so much. One freak stood out way more than two for some freaky reason.

She was up by the hoop now and as the young blonde threw the ball back to her she leapt high to catch it, and swinging on the metal hoop – purely for show –, sank it.

Whoops and cheers came from the rest of their motley team. Faith didn't know why they still bothered, the score must have been like sixty to nearly nothing by now and they'd done that every time. She slapped some woman's hand, who she seemed to remember had tried to rearrange her face with a broken plastic plate once upon a time, just for the camaraderie and turned to grin at Janey.

Janey grinned back. This was kinda fun, compared to sitting in a cell or being accosted in the cafeteria anyway. Thinking of which, she noticed Lolitta and her friends stood off to the side, leaning against the wall smoking. She looked over to see if Faith had noticed, but the game had started up again and Faith was running to get the ball. She shook it off and tried to concentrate on the game.

Faith had noticed the three trouble makers watching from the sidelines but she wasn't about to let it ruin her good mood. This was the first time in days she'd been able to take her mind off the up-coming court appearance. The adrenaline rush of racing around this court overshadowing her fear of the other, more important, one. So let them stand and stare. It was no big deal. She caught the ball again, even though it was sailing past at least three foot to her right and tried a jump shot from forty feet behind the line. It dropped through with ease and her team started cheering again.

Faith grinned. Yeah, today was a good day.

* * *

Willow, Dawn and Miranda had finally left the ducks to their business and had begun wandering around the small village looking for anything "demonic". So far they hadn't found a thing.

The idyllic place was just too nice to be evil. The road they'd driven in on continued on through the woods without changing direction or forking. Small cottages built from wood and brick lined the road, only about six in total. Before you reached them there was tiny wooden bridge which allowed you to cross a tiny, clear stream. Most probably Pleasant Creek.

The three girls had already spent ten minutes walking up the road checking out the dwellings. Some housewives were standing in a front garden, one of them bouncing a small child on her hip as they talked. When Willow, Dawn and Miranda had passed by trying not to look suspicious the one with the child had called out a friendly hello.

"Hi." Dawn had shouted back and Willow and Miranda had both waved.

Now they were standing in front of a small shop, it was like a scaled down version of the grocers in Boudenver.

"I don't know what we're supposed to find here." Dawn grumbled.

"Evil stuff." Miranda supplied helpfully in a safe whisper.

"Yeah but the only thing we seem to be in danger of here is rotting teeth from to much sweetness."

Willow shhhed them just as a small old lady with grey hair in a tight bun came out of the shop door.

"I saw you loitering out here and I just thought I'd come see what you wanted." She told them with a smile.

"Oh we weren't loitering, honestly, we were just looking around." Said Dawn.

The old lady's smile grew bigger. "I was only pulling your leg dearie. Now what can I get you. How about ice-cream. Chocolate ice cream…with sprinkles."

Her words were met with three big grins.

"Just as I thought. Wait here in the sunshine and I'll bring them out to you." The lady patted Miranda, who was closest, on the arm before disappearing back inside the shop.

"Do you think she is evil?" Miranda asked with that whisper again.

Willow shrugged. "Going on my experience, which is vast, most people aren't that nice unless they want something."

"Yes but people baring ice cream are seldom evil." Dawn responded.

The old lady had returned before anyone could add to that with three double cones dripping gorgeous, chocolate-y goodness. They each took a cone eagerly and licked up the drips. Willow started to reach into her pocket for some money to pay for them but the lady shook her head.

"No thank you dear. Consider these a treat. So what are you doing in Pleasant Creek, we don't get many visitors these days for some reason."

Willow tried to work out if there was any kind of threat in the sentence, but there didn't seem to be. Dawn licked at the ice cream wondering if it was drugged, but it just tasted good. Miranda eyed the old women suspiciously. She'd seen all manner of weird things since she'd joined up with these people and now she was just waiting for the woman's skin to peel off and reveal the green scaly demon beneath.

It was Willow who answered. "We're just sight-seeing, y'know checking out the country side."

The lady nodded. "Well it's nice to have you here. Not that there's a lot to capture young peoples attention these days. Most of the kids who grow up around here can't wait to get to college or just plain move to Cleveland." She straightened out her apron and looked sad. "I guess this place is just history breathing itself in and kids are always wanting to be modern." She shook her head and brightened her smile. "But if you kids are interested in the local history then there are some fine places to visit. You've got the old quarry about three miles down the road. They used most of the stone from there to build Boudenver. Then you're got the discontinued railway line. That stops about half a mile away. They say ghost trains still run on it at night, but that's probably just to get the tourists into the area." She chuckled warmly. "Or there's the church over yonder." She pointed beyond the houses to a lush green area surrounded by trees and bushes with a church spire rising from the middle like an island. "Or there's the old Anashew reservation, but that's quite a trek and the sun'll be down soon enough." She chuckled again. "But if you really want a taste of history, just talk to ninety percent of the people who live here. Apart from a few youngsters, I'm quite the spring chicken." She grinned at their surprised faces. "I best get back inside. Enjoy your ice cream."

The three of them stood there licking after she had gone back into her shop. Dawn finished her cone first. "So do you think the Hellmouth is in any of those places?"

"Could be at the quarry." Willow shrugged. "Quarries are big pits. Sunnydale's a big pit. Maybe Hellmouth's have that in common."

"Yeah but Sunnydale wasn't a pit until we made it one – I don't think it's like a rule." Replied Dawn.

"Ghost trains sound kinda evil." Miranda said, almost shyly, still not sure if it was okay to have an opinion. Still not used to having an opinion on Hellmouths.

"Nu-huh." Dawn said with conviction. "Definitely a red herring."

Willow nodded her agreement.

"It's most likely to be the Annieshoe reservation. Those places are mystical aren't they?" Dawn continued.

Willow drew back. "If it is there then I'm out. I'm not having another Hus encounter. I felt bad enough the last time."

Dawn stroked her arm soothingly. "It might be in none of those places; it might just be somewhere completely random or unexpected like under this shop or that house over there." She started to walk off towards the church. "Come on, lets go check out the graveyard, maybe there'll be a vampire Miranda can practice on."

Willow saw the terrified look cross Miranda's face and was quick to reassure. "She's joking…I think. Beside's sun." She waved her arms above her.

Miranda didn't look all that comforted but she followed the other two anyway.

* * *

Lolitta and her two pet goons lounged against the wall watching the fast paced Basketball game. Lol growled every time Faith got the ball, she was growling a lot. One of her buddies, the tooth picker, nearly swallowed the slither of wood she had in her mouth when Lol clapped her on the back unexpectedly.

"What?" She asked annoyed as she spat it out.

"Get out there and play, Max"

"Me? Play ball with them? You're joking right?"

The Italian-American was clearly not joking. "Get out there and mess up her game."

Goon number two chuckled. "You'd have to be Superman to knock Faith offa her game. She's flying."

Lolitta back-handed her without turning around.

"So you better go break her wings then."

Max grumbled, but moved to the edge of the chalked out court anyway. Grabbing a skinny red-head who was jogging past, she pulled her off the court and shoved her towards the wall.

"Thanks for the tag. You've been benched." And she jogged into the middle of the game while the skinny woman scowled after her but knew better than to argue.

* * *

Buffy walked along in the woods listening to Cici talk about her home, and her horse and her parents, and her horse, and her school, and her horse and grinned to herself as Alison gently made fun of them all, especially the horse.

Cici took it all in good nature and merely teased Alison back about her lack of school and a horse.

Buffy wasn't sure if Alison had the parents or the house either. She never talked about her life before Willow and Giles had found her. She gave vague answers when asked, but would soon turn the conversation around to someone else.

The Slayer didn't know if this was a warning signal or if Alison just wanted to keep a part of herself private. There wasn't a lot else you could keep private at Sunset Camp.

Buffy had started to make it her business over the past week to try and draw each girl out about her life before Slayerism. She had never made the time with all the potentials that had boarded at chez Summers before the Big Battle and she had regretted that every time they had lost another one. She wasn't going to let it happen here too.

She wanted each new Slayer to be reminded constantly that they were more than just an army for the Powers That Be. That there was more than just the Mission. Those things were both very important obviously, but they were not the be all and end all. It was important to be a person as well. To have a life outside of Slaying, even if it was only watching your favourite movie once a week or going home for your Mom's birthday once a year.

Spike had summed it up for her, the reason she had made it so far, was because of her friends and family and the ties she had with them. In quite the literal sense she wouldn't even be alive today if her friends hadn't loved her and missed her enough to bring her back, but in the more figurative sense, without the bonds they provided she might have lost herself long ago.

Would she have returned to Sunnydale from L.A. after her junior year if it wasn't for the people she loved? Probably not. She could have gone off the rails a thousand different ways if she hadn't had such a strong support system. And you needed that with Slaying. It gave you a reason to find the strength for one last punch. When you were bloodied and broken and the fight was rapidly turning against you, the Watchers Council and the rest of the world seemed like a long way away and definitely not worth the bother. Why should you save the world for some regular Joe when he couldn't care less whether you lived or died doing it? Saving the world for your sister, or your best friend, or even your best friend's girlfriend's cat made a lot more sense.

So she had made it her job, utilising skills from her brief counselling stint, to make sure all the new Slayers knew this, and knew that everyone was there to help them adjust to the Slaying. Maybe that way they'd avoid having any of the girls turning to the dark side out of resentment or fear of the Council.

''Cause please – once was enough.' She thought. 'And I never want to go through that again.'

What was she thinking; she was still going through it the first time. Before her mind could dwell on that she tripped over something embedded in the grass track and landed on her hands and knees.

"Geez Faith, always with the distracting." She muttered as the two girls came over.

"Graceful much?" Alison offered her hand to the felled Slayer, laughing.

"I was distracted." Buffy muttered as she jumped up without the offered help.

Alison was still laughing. "What by…A tree?"

As Buffy brushed the dirt from her hands and knees she spotted the thing she had tripped over. She bent down for a closer look. It had five sides and a rough engraving of an upright pentacle in the middle. If you looked at it from the other way, it was inverted.

"What is that?" Asked Cici, squatting down next to her.

Inscribed around the outside of the pentacle were the words:

'L'anneau autour du feu.'

"No car's past this point." Read Buffy. "That's a weird sign to put in the middle of the woods."

Cici gave her a smile; it might have been just a little condescending. "It says, 'The ring around the fire'. I wonder what it could mean."

"French was never my strong subject." Said Buffy. "It is French right?"

"Yes." Cici assured her. "I was never any good at sports, well until…" She waved her hand around in the air.

"But what does it mean?" Alison was sitting on the grass to the side of them tying up her shoelace.

"Something not good." Said Buffy straightening up. "Come on let's head back to the car. I'm thinking this might be just the thing Giles was on about. The only thing missing is a goats head."

* * *

Xander had taken his beer outside into the late afternoon sunshine. He had to admit, aside from the demoralising aspect of being left behind, it was nice and quiet with everyone gone.

He'd spread some newspaper on the grass, close enough to the back door so he could still hear the radio, and was carefully applying red paint to the wooden shutter that would eventually go on one of the dorm barn windows. He cursed softly every time he accidentally applied it to his fingertips instead.

The music on the radio changed to some heavily soulful rock ballad and he grew increasingly irate with every lyric.

"Bloody stupid love songs." He muttered feeling vaguely disturbed that he was channelling Giles, or was it maybe Spike. "They don't know the half of it. I too once sung about the love and look where that got me." He dipped his paint brush into the tiny tin of paint balanced on his knee and started again. "Sitting in a field in Ohio, that's where." He run the tip of the brush over his thumb again and gave it a mean look. "Stupid thumb getting in the way."

Suddenly his newly red thumb was the least of his worries, as something jumped onto his shoulders and clung to his head. He gave a very un-manly shriek and tried to jump up, knocking the paint to the grass and splattering it down his leg at the same time.

He heard Andrew call out something but it was muffled by the two paws held over his ears. Then the paws and the weight were gently removed and Xander opened his eye and turned around.

Goorzar sat behind him chewing on the paint soaked brush he'd just been working with. "Rorwl." She said around her new chew toy.

"Hello to you too." He greeted, his heart steadily getting back to normal. The little demon baby had been doing the same thing to him all week and he still wasn't used to it.

Everyone else had gotten used to it pretty quickly and teased him for not being able to, but everyone else had a much wider field of vision than him, and they could see the little critter coming. Xander had more blind spots than un-blind spots and Goorzar knew them all already.

"That's not a tooth brush you know." He told her.

She grinned at him around the brush. It could have been a grin; there were a lot of teeth involved.

"The paint might dissolve your stomach then what will you do?" The carpenter tried next. When this didn't seem to convince the demon to give up his paint brush Xander settled for grabbing the handle and trying to pull it free from her mouth.

Goorzar's lips pulled back in a snarl but she was making the little hiccupping noises deep in her throat that the girls had decided meant 'happy', so Xander didn't give up but just pulled harder.

He pulled with all his strength, his other hand digging into the soft grass to give himself some leverage. Goorzar just used her teeth and he still couldn't pull it away from her.

Finally, just as his arm felt like it might pop out of the socket, she grew bored of the game and bit right through the wooden handle and chewed up the brush part. When she'd done swallowing she smacked her lips, now bright red making her look like she'd put on gramma Harris's lipstick. It didn't look any better on the baby demon than it had on a young Xander.

Andrew puffed and panted his way around the side of the house.

"We were playing hide and seek and she got away from me again." He wheezed as he collapsed next to Xander and the demon. "Why's she wearing lipstick?"

"It's not lipstick, its paint." Xander gestured at the mess around them.

"You shouldn't let her eat paint Xander, that can't be good for her." Andrew tried to wipe it from her lips, but she just swatted his hands away with her paws.

"I didn't let her." He said exasperated. "She helped herself. And now I have foot prints in the paint." He gazed in dismay at his shutters.

"I'm sure she was just trying to help." The blonde tried to be the diplomat. "And they still look good. You could say the paw prints are deliberate. Y'know like a demon hunter motif. And no one could say they aren't authentic. What are they for anyway?" Andrew asked as he scratched the baby behind the ears, Xander noticed she was making the hiccupy noise again.

"For the sleeping barn. There's no glass in the windows yet, but we need to start using them as from tomorrow. They'll offer some protection against the chilly nights we've been having. Not that they compare to having a warm body to snuggle up under the covers with." He stared dreamily off into the middle distance, a wistful smile playing on his lips.

"Uh Yeah I guess." Andrew cleared his throat. "Uh if it gets too cold, if you want…."

Goorzar chose that moment to reach up and place paint drenched fingertips on Xander's cheek, bringing him joltingly back from wherever he'd gone. "Arrgh."

"Never mind." Muttered Andrew as the carpenter wiped at his red streaked cheek. "So what's the rush with the barn?" He asked instead.

"Vi and Rona arrived this morning."

"That's nice."

"And we're running out of room. Plus if Faith's appeal goes well, she'll be coming back with Giles and I don't think her and Buffy will be sharing a room anytime soon with the way things are between them. Not to mention that Giles has arranged for a bunch of Watcher possibilities to come over in a couple of weeks to meet the Slayers. They'll need a whole sleeping barn to themselves, 'cause we can't exactly put them in with the girls, well except the girlie Watchers but how many of them are there gonna be. The shower block down in the west field needs all new plumbing before it will work and we really should be getting the Health and Safety guys out here to okay it all, but I'm not gonna be the one to tell Giles that."

"So if all this stuff needs doing. Why are you just sitting here painting?" Andrew asked without guile.

"I'm taking a break." Xander snapped, finishing off his beer. "I've been researching all day. Not that I get any thanks for it." He grumbled the last part.

"I've been trying to teach Goorzar to say my name, but she doesn't seem to want to."

"Well at least you're doing something constructive." Said the one eyed man sarcastically, but the idea did seem attractive. He gave the demon a little shoulder nudge to get her attention away from licking the paint out of the tin. "Say Xander. Can you say Xander?" He coaxed.

Goorzar blew a red raspberry and followed it with the hiccupping noise.

"Hey that's exactly how my parents used to say it. Well done demon." Xander gave her another pat on the head and looked around at his ruined work. "Well I think we've done enough here for one day." He took a deep breath, he couldn't believe he was just about to suggest what he was about to suggest, but what the heck. "Do you wanna hang out, there's a 'Stargate.' marathon starting a little later or we could play D&D as long as you tell everyone you bribed me."

"You don't have to do that you know." Andrew told him as he pulled Goorzar away from trying to gnaw on the shutters.

"What's that?" Asked Xander confused.

"Feel sorry for me, or feel like you owe me something, because you don't. You've got more important things to be doing than babysitting me."

"Whoa, who said a darn thing about feeling sorry for you? Not me, and I certainly don't owe you anything. I just…" He been about to admit he was just that bored, and feeling that un-loved right now that Andrew was better than nothing. Anya had always liked the nerd for some reason too, but he wasn't thinking about that.

Andrew stood up holding the demon's paw. "I'd better go get this little madam cleaned up. Mr Giles won't let us keep her if she puts red hand prints all over the walls" He gave Xander a sad little smile that confused him no end and walked away around the side of the house.

'Okay.' He thought. 'Now even the geek that Kennedy thinks has a boy crush on me would rather give a smelly demon a bubble bath than spend time with the Xan-man.'

He flopped onto his back, mindless of his hair landing in the paint. "You truly know you're having a bad day when you start missing Spike!" He groaned to the world in general.

* * *

Faith watched out of the corner of her eye as Lolitta's lackey stomped onto the court. 'What are they playing at now?' She wondered. Choosing not to chase the ball manically like she had been all afternoon, she kept back from the crowd and alternated between watching Lol grinning and heckling from the side line and her goon wading as gracefully through the crush of players as a steam roller through Bambi's back yard.

Janey made a spectacular jump into the air and caught the ball easily, landing and pivoting quickly to find Faith, and instead came face to face with the creature from the black lagoon's uglier twin. She staggered back just a step or two, surprised.

"Let's see what you got then bitch!" Max spat a sliver of chewed wood at Janey's feet.

The rest of the women had fallen back, expecting a fight. Faith sauntered casually through them, coming to a stop behind the goon. She flashed the young blonde a smile, with a one shoulder shrug, which was easy to translate as 'Your call'.

Janey dribbled the ball on the spot while she regarded the five'eight", large (hard to tell where fat began and muscle ended) menace. She knew she had nothing to fear from this woman, not physically at least. If what Faith had told her was true, and she pretty much already knew it was, she could turn ten times this woman's body weight into so much paste.

All she had to fear was the darkness welling up inside. The darkness that cackled in the night when she dreamt about Rik Hogan. The darkness that would just love for her to smash the hard basket ball into the poisonous face in front of her. Faith had a lot to say about the darkness. Janey knew the penitentiary was overflowing with it; it was in her own crying at night and that of thousands of other women, including her mentor's. Faith was wracked every night by nightmares rising from her past. Between the two of them, they never got much sleep.

Still dribbling, Janey finally spoke. "You wanna play?" She asked with mock surprise. "Think you can keep up?" She shot the ball over the other woman's head and Faith caught it neatly.

Max spun on her heel, surprisingly fast for someone of her stature, but it was still only human fast.

Janey had set off running up the court the moment the ball had left her hands and now as Max grinned evilly at Faith, the brunette gave her a wink before throwing the ball backwards over her head. She knew without looking that Janey had caught it, when a few cheers were heard. Smiling, she side stepped neatly as Max charged towards her and slyly stuck her foot out. Seeing the move, Max used it to her advantage by stomping on the outstretched knee.

Faith went down to the ground, clutching her knee and biting her lip to keep from screaming the long list of expletives lining up behind her lips.

"Let's see ya be so cocky now, Wilkins." Max laughed as she went after Janey and the ball again.

Muttering, Faith crawled to her feet. That had hurt like hell. Not broken though, the dumb bitch didn't have skills for that, just bruised all up the creek.

Janey had faltered when she saw Faith on the ground, but grinned now she was back on her feet. She threw the ball to a tall, black woman who was hovering by the hoop. She scored and the cheers went up again. Janey looked to the sideline and saw Lolitta raging at her other minion, who was looking terrified.

"Jeez do they got money on this game, or what?" One of the women asked as she walked by Janey.

"Could be she's got money riding on something." Another answered, laughing.

Janey followed her gaze and realised with uneasiness that they were watching Faith as she hobbled up and down testing her knee. She got in there line of sight.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Aw honey, nothing 'cept she wants your girl dead." Said the second woman with a smile

"Why?"

The first woman patted the young blonde on the shoulder. "This is Lolitta we're talking 'bout honey. She don't need no reason 'cept the ones she makes up."

"Still Wilkins can take care of herself, or at least she used to be able too. I think she went soft on the outside." Both women laughed.

"What do you mean?" Asked Janey again.

"You know. She used to be this tough nut to crack, an' plenty of ladies had a go at the cracking, but they all got splinters, so they left her alone. Since she came back from wherever she went, she ain't been the same."

The second woman took up the tale. "Yeh, she's letting Lol beat on her butt every opportunity she gets and then there's you. You're the first cell mate they've let her have in Lord knows how many years. You hear what happened to her last one right?"

Janey shook her head. "Only rumours."

"J, heads up." The game had started up around them again and Faith sent the ball flying unerringly in the blonde's direction.

* * *

"Yes, they're marking's." Giles trampled through the trees, batting the brush away with a hand when it got in his way. "A boundary line for something." He stopped talking into his cell phone long enough to wave his arms around a bit.

Kennedy got the message and she and Kate spread out a bit more, both staring intently at the ground.

"Well I think it's safe to assume that it is connected to the Hellmouth, which means we are in the right place at least." He listened to the phone for a moment. "Well Buffy says that they found a similar stone in their area. I've instructed her to look for more. If the stones make up a ring as the inscription suggests, then common sense would place the Hellmouth directly in the middle."

"Tell her I love her." Kennedy called out suddenly from off to his right.

"Yes, well you just stay where you are and keep your eyes open. We've found two more stones already and the curve doesn't seem to be vast, we should be with you shortly. Yes okay…okay…Oh and Willow, Kennedy asked me to pass on her regards. Okay Goodbye."

"I did not say that." Kennedy grinned.

Giles cleared his throat. "Yes well it was close enough."

"Did I get a reply?"

"Um yes. She sends her regards also…Snuggle-bunny."

Kennedy cracked up.

Kate looked over from the far left of Giles. "You two are pretty tight, huh?"

"Yeah, we are." The small brunette said with a soft smile.

* * *

Faith spun, dodged, jumped and scored again. Her knee was giving her less trouble with every movement.

Janey backed her play every step and between them they were un-stoppable.

Max looked over at Lolitta and knew she had to do something. Put a spanner in their axial. 'Of course that's not gonna be easy.' She thought as she looked over again at the Italian-American lounging against the wall. 'Why the hell ain't she got her ass out here running up and down and sweating like a moron?' Sulkily, she stepped it up, yard exercise only lasted so long and Lolitta wanted Faith crushed out here where everyone could see it.

"Over here." Faith called excitedly, seeing a team-mate get the ball. "Chump." She muttered when it was stolen by the opposition.

Then Janey had the ball again and Faith was already running towards the hoop, knowing her young cell mate would throw it straight to her hands. She turned her head to see the ball coming to exactly where she knew it would and reached up to pick it out of the air, and then …ooof.

She doubled up around the knee that had been forced into her stomach and felt herself being pushed away before she could straighten up. She looked up through her tangled, wind-blown hair and saw Max grinning at her, ball bouncing casually by her feet.

Faith stood up straight and regarded the other woman. Janey had run up and came to a stop nearby.

"What's your beef?" Faith spread her hands and gestured around her.

"Nuthin' Wilkins. I thought we were playing ball."

"Yeah so what's with the assault and battery?"

"It's called a block. Not my fault if you're too soft to take it." Max's grin turned to a sneer. "Maybe you should join a kiddies game instead, might be more your deal."

Janey stepped up next to her cell-mate. "Why don't you go and join another game. No one wants you here."

There were some muttering and murmurings from the gathered women but no one out rightly agreed with her. They knew which side the beatings were delivered from.

"This is nothing to do with you, short stuff." Max told her amiably enough and lightly threw Janey the ball. "This is to do with super-freak." She took a step closer to Faith who just stood there watching her. "So all the girls wanna know Faithy, what happened to you on the outside to make you such a pussy. Did Lex stick it to you with a kryptonite d…"

The ball bounced squarely off of Max's nose, blood splattered as she fell over backwards. The women cheered and guard whistles added to the clamour as they finally noticed something was going on.

Plenty of women tried to pat Janey on the back as Faith quickly led her through the crowd and away to another part of the yard. Janey didn't even realise as she followed shakily.

"I didn't kill her." It was half a question, half a statement.

"Nope, kiddo, you didn't." Faith stopped against the wall between two guard points and watched as the hubbub died down in front of them.

* * *

Kennedy pulled the truck to a stop behind the house and everyone jumped out.

"Meeting in ten minutes everyone." Giles called.

"Oh my God. There's been an attack." Alison pointed to a mess of red coloured lawn.

"What if it's still here?" Miranda looked around her expecting a giant demon to emerge from thin air.

Kennedy dropped to one knee outside the back door, studying the red splashed grass. "It's paint." She informed as Willow and Buffy both made there way over to investigate.

"Are you sure?" Asked Buffy.

"Looks like paint, smells like paint…We can get Andrew out here to taste it if you want a second opinion."

"I heard that." Andrew called though the open kitchen door.

They trooped inside. Andrew was kneeling on a cushion in front of Goorzar, who was fidgeting in one of the kitchen chairs.

"She won't keep still." He moaned.

"Ohh she's looks so sweet." Exclaimed Dawn, rushing over and fingering the tiny ponytails Andrew was meticulously putting in the baby demon's hair.

Goorzar batted Dawn's hands away and Andrew seconded that motion. "Don't pull on them; they took ages to get level."

"Where's Xander?" Asked Willow, coming in and taking a seat next to Andrew.

"Showing the training barn to Vi and Rona."

"Even though at the moment it's correct title is …Barn?" Asked Buffy with a smile. "And is that hygienic." She grimaced and pointed at the demon.

"She's clean; I just gave her a bath."

Kennedy took a seat on Willow's lap and Goorzar immediately put her paw in the Slayer's hand. She saw Dawn pout. "It's not my fault she's close to me. She thinks I'm her mom."

"Poor her." Dawn grinned.

Giles entered the kitchen from the living room. "Has no one put any water on to boil? I thought there was a rota for these things." He moved to put the kettle on himself.

"Don't you think that more includes who chops the wood and who feeds the cows?" Said Xander coming through the kitchen door.

"There are cows too." Vi asked coming in behind him followed by Rona. "'Cause I'm not sure about cows."

"It's the eyes, isn't it?" Giles looked over. "That blank stare that just makes you wonder just what it is they might be plotting."

Vi nodded in agreement, while everyone else looked at him like he was crazy. He shook himself.

"Anyway if everyone is here, let's get started. We believe the Hellmouth is located in a small hamlet almost directly in the centre of the Boudenver district. A place called Pleasant Creek."

"Doesn't sound too demony." Xander ruffled Dawn's hair on the way to get a beer.

"Hey." She scolded. "It didn't look it either."

"Anyway, if the stones we found are in fact the Ring of Jupitus, like I suspect, then that would put the Hellmouth directly in the middle of them."

"Pleasant Creek." Buffy summed up. Giles nodded. "Okay, got that part. Does not explain what the Ring of Jupiter is, though."

"Jupitus." Giles corrected. "Well I need to do some research to be sure, but from what I can remember from my studies, the Ring of Jupitus was spun around one of the Hellmouths in the new world. A highly regarded French mystic managed to capture and trap an ancient demon Lord beneath the mouth of Hell and kept him there with spells woven into the ring."

"Does the demon lord have a name?" Asked Kennedy.

Xander raised a hand. "I'm gonna take a wild stab and say…Jupitus."

"That is correct Xander. However I had no idea that Boudenver was the Hellmouth in the report, and in fact we still can't be certain without extensive research. It's possible it means something else entirely. Of course it's also possible this is the place and it could be Jupitus himself these vampires are trying to raise."

"And that would be how bad on a scale of one to ten?" Buffy questioned.

Giles removed his glasses for a good polishing without answering. Willow flopped an open book down in front of the blonde Slayer. A picture of a muscley, many horned demon-man looked back at her. Lightening bolts were spurting from its claw like hands and fire blazed from its mouth.

Buffy put her finger to the little caption beneath the picture. "Any chance this says 'actual size.'

Cici looked over her shoulder at the small French writing. "It says 'Lord of Damnation – all who walk or crawl the Earth shall fear.'"

"Oh."

Dawn leaned over her sister's other shoulder. "And I think this little box thingy is supposed to be a house." She pointed to a small house shaped squiggle nestled by the demon's foot.

"Oh."

"Which is why it is imperative that we put a stop to the cult's plans." Giles started sorting through various books on the table and handing a chosen few around.

Willow booted up the lap top. "Right well let's get started then. Who's with me?"

Dawn went to give Vi and Rona a hug. "Hey guys, it's so good to have you here, and not just because of the impending doom either."

"Yeah we know." Drawled Rona. "This place is boring and you need us to liven it up."

"Boring! Obviously no one's filled you in on how Buffy made the cactus I brought her curse us all, or how I tried to shoot a werewolf, but missed and…" Dawn looked up to see Buffy watching her expectantly.

"Well go on; don't keep us all in suspense." Her sister ordered, tapping her foot. She couldn't help but notice that everyone else in the room, with the exception of Vi and Rona, wore the same caught in the head lights expression as Dawn.

"I…I…missed you because you weren't here, you were in L.A. with…and shutting up now." Dawn grabbed a thick book off of the table. "I'll just be researching quietly through here." She went to sit on the couch in the living room. Vi and Rona went with her, both grabbing books on the way, eager to hear the rest of the story.

Buffy looked around at everyone else but they all seemed suddenly, and inexplicably, interested in inanimate objects around the kitchen.

Andrew broke the silence. "Why don't you all go through to the other room and then I can start dinner without you getting in the way." He lifted Goorzar out her chair and placed her in a well chewed cardboard box in the corner. She sat there hiccupping to herself.

"Wash your hands." Buffy said on reflex.

"Good idea, Andy. About the dinner I mean, oh and the handwashing." Willow unplugged her lap top. "Giles you should pack first, so it's out of the way."

Giles nodded. "Yes, I'll go and get on with it now, and then I must set up the alignment tests. At least by midnight we should know which night the raising will take place."

"Okay, I'm taking weapons." Said Kennedy, clapping her hands together.

"Won't we all be taking weapons?" Miranda asked nervously. Not liking the thought of going up against a cult of vampires and a demon Lord empty handed. Or at all.

"On the night of course. I just meant I'll sort through them, make sure there good to go. Whittle some stakes."

"Good idea." Said Buffy. "We should probably put in some training too."

"It's getting dark." Said Alison, looking out the kitchen window.

"Damn. We need to get that training barn sorted out soon Xander."

"Just waiting for the materials to arrive." The one-eyed man explained. "But you're right and maybe I should get out there and see if I can do anymore tonight." He got up and went to the back door. "Come on Kennedy, I'll show you where all the cut offs are for your stakes."

"I'll be out in a minute to give you those suggestions you wanted." Buffy called after him. He didn't answer, just raised his hand in a little wave. "Okay girls, why don't you go through and help with the research and let Andrew do his thing." The four new Slayers went through to the living room

Buffy, Willow and Giles stood looking at each other.

"Its bad again, isn't it?" Buffy asked. With an annoyed grimace, she added: "Already."

"Well Jupitus is certainly not something we want to have dealings with. In medieval times he wreaked havoc across the globe. No one was safe from his destruction. He was... how shall I put it? An Ambassador of sorts, for the demonic races."

"And I'm thinking not a very diplomatic one." Willow gave a small smile.

Giles smiled back. "Quite, but we can stop it before it happens, I'm sure of it."

"No." Corrected Buffy. "We're gonna stop it. You're gonna tell us how, but then you have an elsewhere to be. So go pack."

Giles let his hand rest on his Slayer's shoulder for a moment. "Of course." Then he turned and went up the kitchen stairs.

"You sure you're okay?" Asked Willow from her seat at the counter, oblivious to Andrew bustling around her preparing a recipe from a cook book.

"Peachy." Buffy smiled at her best friend, before heading for the training barn.

* * *

The sun had already dropped from the sky, and the proposed training barn cast a long purple shadow across the field. Kennedy sat on the grass, her back holding the wide wooden door open, whistling while she whittled. Buffy watched her as she walked over from the house.

Kennedy was one of the outsiders. One of the new breed. Buffy didn't really think all that much about her when she didn't have to. Sure she was Willow's girlfriend, but it was just a rebound thing and would eventually blow over. Kennedy would get even brattier, if that was possible, and Willow would get tired of her immaturity and cut her loose. Hopefully then Kennedy would get relocated to another area of mystical convergence and could form her own band of Slayerettes and Buffy could have her best friend back.

At least that had been the plan that Buffy had been planning on.

Something had changed.

When Buffy was too caught up in herself to care about Slaying, Kennedy had jumped in with a zeal Buffy had rarely shown, at least when anyone could see. When the new girls had started to arrive and Buffy hadn't even noticed, it was again Kennedy who stepped up and took them under her wing. That should have been her job and she knew it, but Kennedy had done it without complaint, well much complaint anyway.

In short Kennedy had surprised her. She was still arrogant and brash and, well, bratty, but Buffy felt now that if the kid could keep herself alive through the next year, then maybe she wouldn't make too bad a Slayer.

Buffy sniffed dismissively as she remembered she hadn't kept herself alive her first year. Xander had, but she hadn't. Like details were important in life and death. Just don't die was the important thing, it didn't matter how you did it.

So Kennedy had the makings of a good Slayer. Well good, that's what she was here for. Right?

To slay, not to be a part of the family. Buffy already had her family just the way she liked it, thank you very much. Interlopers made her cranky.

At least that was the way she'd felt up until that morning. Having Vi and Rona suddenly descend, except with out the sudden because she knew they were coming, forced Buffy to realise that Kennedy wasn't exactly an outsider any more.

Kennedy had been here with them all along, making a life for herself with Willow and the gang. Buffy felt the flash of jealously, but it was expected and she rose above it. Damn it, the girl had made herself family while Buffy had her back turned and now she just had to accept it.

Willow had once mentioned a Scooby initiation thing that Buffy had found funny, but she'd been too preoccupied with Harmony kidnapping Dawn to talk details. Now seemed like a good time to initiate an initiation. Before anyone else decided to jump on board.

Buffy had walked right up to where the small Slayer was sitting and Kennedy looked up.

"Any thing I can help you with, or did you just come out here to stare?" Small, quick hands never stopped slicing her knife into the length of wood she held. "'Cause if you did, well…I wouldn't blame you."

"Kenny, don't ever let anyone tell you, you're _too _full of yourself, okay?" Buffy said sarcastically.

Kennedy gave her a cheeky grin. "Ookay, I won't."

Buffy shook her head with a smile. "Xander inside?"

Kennedy's attention was already back on the soon to be stake in her hands. "Making shadow puppets on the far wall."

"Thanks." Buffy walked into the darkness of the barn.

It was large, it was dirty and dusty, it was very dark and once it was finished it would be the best damn training room ever. Of course you had to start it before you could finish it and Giles had insisted that the sleeping barn be done first so this was still only in the planning stages.

Buffy made her way to the end of the thirty foot long out building, which still smelled faintly of cow shit, even though Giles swore it had only ever been used as an assembly space for the Watcher's. Xander was using a flashlight to search through a box of tools and he jumped and spun around when Buffy put her hand on his shoulder.

"Geez Buf, way to sneak up on me in a pitch black room." He panted in the near darkness. "You couldn't have hollered from the door?"

"Hollered?" Buffy asked.

The carpenter shrugged and handed her the flashlight. "Here hold this, and point it downwards." He went back to rummaging around.

"What are you looking for?" Buffy peered into the box too.

"Matches."

"Matches, why? You haven't taken up smoking too, have you? 'Cause really one vice per person is enough."

"Eww, no I haven't started smoking. Hang on a minute, what are you on about, one vice?"

Buffy looked up, a little stricken. "Uh, nothing. Just that…" He stood up straight to look at her and she trailed off and tapped the bottle at his side gently with the side of the torch.

"What of it?" He asked tightly.

Buffy started to pace, the beam from the flashlight pacing with her. "Xander look, I know the past few months haven't been great for you, since leaving Sunnydale. I mean, they haven't been great for any of us, and we all cope in our own ways, but maybe not all of them are as healthy as they should be. We've all been guilty of that. I with the running away, Willow with her …addiction…"

"I don't think me having a few beers in the evening is along the same lines as trying to destroy the world, Buffy…"

"Maybe you should try talking about it?" Buffy tried, wondering why she'd gotten herself into this conversation.

"I'm surprised you even noticed there was something to talk about. You've not exactly been Miss. Conversationalist yourself since Sunnydale. What's your vice Buffy, throwing yourself in solitary for six weeks, I thought that was Faith's gig, not yours."

Buffy took a step towards him, lifting the flashlight so the beam shone straight at his good eye. "Yeah, so I went a little crazy for a while, but then I talked about it and got it into perspective and I've moved on. Faith is safely tucked away in a little box in my brain labelled 'Highly Toxic' and that's where she's going to stay. Now how about you do the same?"

Xander turned away from her and bent over the box again to look through it once more. "Everything is in perspective. I lost everything in Sunnydale, but it's not like there was much there for me to lose. I'm over the whole sorry city, good riddance to it." He finally found the match book he was looking for and lit one on the side of the box. Carefully he picked up an old fashioned gas lamp and lit the wick in the centre. It ignited with a soft blue flame and he put it back down on the work bench.

Buffy touched her fingers to his arm and felt him flinch, but he didn't pull away. "Even Anya?"

"Anya and I were over long before she died."

"But still…"

"But still nothing Buffy. I know you care and I get that you're worried but you have no reason to be. Just let me deal with it okay, at least let me have that." He did pull his arm away now and reached for a stack of paper on the bench. Finding the one he was after he straightened it out and smoothed it out on the wood. "You need to check this before I can go any further."

"Xander..." Buffy started.

"Buffy please." He insisted.

She sighed, but didn't finish her sentence. Instead she switched off the flashlight and then leant over the bench to look at the carefully drawn plans. "What's this?" She asked, pointing to a small rectangle at one end of the paper.

"Raised platform – for demonstrations."

"Demonstrations?" Buffy wrinkled her nose.

"And here you have the weapons cage – Big enough to house all the weapons and the odd werewolf if we need to. Over here is an area for the weights bench and other equipment like that. Giles wanted enough space left in the middle for sparring, which I don't think will be a problem." Xander's finger flitted over the page as he spoke. "At this end here, I'm fitting a window and possibly a few sky lights in the roof, plus obviously we'll get the electricity up and running out here soon enough. They used to have fluorescents all the way down, but where it was left untended for so long they all burnt out, but it shouldn't cost to much to get it all safely up to scratch again."

"It looks like you've thought of everything." Said Buffy, admiration clear in her voice. "It looks good."

"Yeah I don't know how I managed it what with being drunk all the time." Xander rolled the plan back up and put it back on the stack.

"Xander…"

"So all you've really got to tell me is what equipment you are going to need and then we can make sure there's enough room for it all." He interrupted her.

She frowned. "The kind of stuff we had at the Magic Box I guess. Um. One of the wooden horse box things, y'know, gymnast-y stuff. Ooh you know what I always wanted? – A trampoline, and some bars like the one in the corner for pull ups and do you think we can get a sound system in here and some speakers set up around the walls. Aerobicising is so much easier to music."

"You don't want a lot do you?" The carpenter scrabbled through the stuff on his makeshift work bench for some blank paper and a pen.

"It's only the essentials." Buffy pouted.

Xander started making notes of the things Buffy had requested. "The rest I can get, but the sounds you'll have to ask Giles about."

"Why?" Buffy pouted more.

"Because it's Council money, over which I have absolutely no authorisation."

"Okay." Buffy relented. She wandered over to the beam she'd used for pull ups the week before and looked up at it. "But do you think we'll be able to get the rest by next week?"

Xander turned around and watched as Buffy jumped up, gripped the pole with both hands and started some slow pull ups. "As soon as the barn's done, you and me can go on a Meyers Sports and Tackle spending spree or whatever they have around here that passes for a bait and decapitate shop."

"Ooh shopping; sounds good. Do you think we'll get it finished for next week?" Buffy asked again.

"Dunno, we can certainly give it our best shot. Why, what's so special about next week? And how come I've been demon fighting almost as long as you and I still can't do what you're doing without turning a fetching, yet embarrassing, plum colour?"

"I have muscles you've never even dreamed of." Buffy joked in a husky drawl.

"Oh I've dreamed about them." Replied the carpenter playfully.

"Xander!" Buffy mock scolded as she dropped to the floor in front of him.

He held up his hands in surrender. "So again, why the hurry?"

"I want the place to be up and running before the Brits get here. I want to show them that we can run the Council better than they did and then I want to go nyah na na na na!"

"That's what I respect most about you Buffy. You always take the high road."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah well, it's probably gonna be lost on all the pimply faced kids they send over, but the sentiments pure."

"It might be nice to have it finished for when Faith gets here too." Xander suggested cautiously.

"I think she'll be too interested in partying and gettingsome to worry about what an old barn looks like." Buffy's voice had tightened but she was trying to sound as carefree as she had a minute ago. If it hadn't been one of her best friends standing with her, she knew she might have got away with it.

"Oh I don't know, she was always pretty big on the violence too."

"Xander…"

"And in here, she can train to be more violent. I think it will be right up her alley."

"You know that talking thing you didn't want to do a minute ago Xan, well I'm starting to see your point. So can we just drop it?" Buffy crossed her arms and leant against the dusty wall.

"Buffy my past is dead and buried, literally. Yours is coming to town at the end of the week. I don't think you can just drop it."

Buffy shook her head. "What makes you so sure she's gonna get her appeal anyway? And if she does she might not come here at all."

"From what I've heard, her remand conditions say she has to, at least for a little while." Xander had known this was a bad idea.

"And since when have you ever known Faith to play by the rules?"

"If you didn't want her here Buffy, you should have told Giles. He could have made some other arrangements for her. She could stay in L.A. with Angel. It's not too late, I'm sure if you spoke to Giles before he leaves he can ..."

"I can't make her not come here Xander. Faith has to have the choice. This camp, this new Council, may be just what she needs to keep herself on the right track. Somewhere to call home, something to belong to, if she wants it that is. Either way it's not my decision to make."

"Yes it is." Xander replied firmly.

"Well it shouldn't be." Buffy turned and walked out of the barn, leaving Xander standing in the lamplight staring after her.

* * *

"You okay?"

Buffy was startled by Kennedy's voice coming out of the near dark.

The brunette was still leaning against the door and carving stakes.

"I'm fine." Buffy's tone could best be described as curt as she made to walk back to the house.

"It's okay to be freaked, y'know." Kennedy chucked the stake she was holding onto the finished pile and didn't flinch from Buffy's sudden glare. "I wasn't eavesdropping, I was just sitting here. Hard not to hear stuff with my new x-ray Slayer ears."

"Yeah, especially when you're sitting real quiet and holding your breath so you don't miss a thing." The blonde answered sarcastically.

Kennedy just shrugged. "You gave me the super powers, can't blame me for exercising them."

Buffy sighed. "I'm not freaked…just, I don't know. I want it over already. To know if she's getting out or not. Until I know that, I can't settle."

Kennedy stood up with the new stakes under one arm, with the hand of her other she brushed at the seat of her pants. "Grass is wet." She groaned. "I thought it was a done deal and the question was when not if."

"Nah, there's lots of if's." Both Slayers turned to see that Xander had come out of the barn and was standing behind them in the doorway. "_If_ the jury decides she was wrongly accused the first time. _If_ Angel's lawyers do a good enough job of convincing them she was. _If_ the Judge is stupid enough to believe it. _If_ she doesn't accidentally, or not, kill anyone while she's in there. _If_ she doesn't sneeze out of turn; _and_ _if _she actually wants to leave."

Buffy listened to Xander's speech without bothering to look up from his left shoe. She knew most of it was true. Faith could have all the noble intentions in the world, but it didn't change the fact that she was a convicted murderer. One who still had a lot of time to do in front of her.

"Of course she'll want to leave. It's prison." Kennedy looked at the one-eyed young man like he was crazy.

"She's gone there of her own free will, _twice_. I don't think it's insane to think she might want to stay. It's got everything she could ever want. A roof over her head, a bed to sleep in, regular meals, all the scared, vulnerable inmates she can handle…"

"Xander…!"

"Sorry Buf, but you've got to agree. If you aren't enough to make Faith wanna stay out of jail, then what else is?"

"Try freedom." Kennedy sardonically replied.

"Freedom means making your own choices. Faith, as a rule, is bad at that." Xander sighed. "Maybe she's just not cut out to live in the real world."

Buffy frowned in the now absolute darkness around them. She wanted to believe that Faith had put herself inside both times out of a desire to finally do the right thing, not just to escape the harsh realities of everyday life. It wasn't always easy to think that way though. What if Faith really had chosen prison over her because it was simpler, or, even worse, preferable to a life with her blonde counterpart?

"Well," the blonde concluded, "I guess that's a decision Faith has to make before Thursday. She can come out and live a scary, dangerous life with the rest of us, or she can stay in prison where it's all safe and cosy."

* * *

Faith walked out of the shower block door still towelling her thick, wavy hair dry. She lifted a few strands up and studied them, before making a tutting noise of disapproval. This place was hard on your hair; the shampoo alone had more in common with paint stripper than Herbal Essence.

She winked as she passed Janey still waiting on the other side of the door. "Y'know you're gettin' old when the gettin' clean part is almost as much fun as the hot and sweaty part." She chuckled.

"Next Fifteen!" Barked a guard by the door.

"Have fun kid, see ya at supper." Faith flicked Janey's butt playfully with the towel as she walked away.

"See ya." Janey walked into the damp, featureless changing room and quickly shed her clothes. She left them in a messy pile on the bench and hurried into the showers proper. It was just one long tiled room, with a row of shower heads along one wall. All of them either gushing or dripping luke warm water. The water had been hot for the first couple of sessions and steam still hung heavily in the clammy atmosphere.

Most of the showerheads already had women under them; Janey hurried past all of these to a vacant spot a couple from the far end and ducked under the spray. Shivering slightly she rubbed shampoo into her hair before soaping herself down. She had to be quick. You only got five minutes a day to wash and another five minutes to dress again before the next fifteen women were sent in. So you learned to economise your time, Faith said.

Luckily today she was in the last group so she shouldn't be quite so rushed.

After a quick glance around the room, her Slayer instincts working sub-consciously, she turned to face the wall so she could keep her back to the other women. She was still uncomfortable being naked in front of all these strangers. She didn't think she would ever be comfortable with it.

She looked up briefly when she heard a scream, muffled by the sound of water running throughout the room. It sounded far away though and it wasn't as if it was unusual. With a little shudder she got on with what she was doing.

School had been different. She'd hit the showers after gym with the rest of her class and think nothing of it, but then none of the other girls would have dared look at her, or each other, even if they had wanted to. It was a rule. In this place, the other women didn't only look; they stared, openly, at whatever they wanted to. The more nervous it made the young blonde, the more they all seemed to like it.

With that in mind, she kept turned to the wall while she finished her cleaning rituals, letting the shampoo wash naturally out of her hair while she lathered her body in the cheap soap.

'Let them stare at my butt.' She thought, keeping her eyes shut against the stinging suds sliding down her face. 'What I can't see can't bother me.'

The idiocy of that thought was brought crashing home at the same time as she felt herself falling. Someone or something had grabbed her shoulder from behind and yanked her backwards, hard. Her legs flew out in front of her and a second later her ass hit the cold floor with a stinging slap.

Her eyes flew open on impact and that was a big mistake. The acid-like hair product blurred her vision and stung like hell. She rubbed at them and tried to leap to her feet. She could hear laughter echoing off the tiles and it was pissing her off. Who was it? What had happened?

She was on her feet, crouched against the wall, blinking rapidly, when the fist, or it could have been a car, smacked her on the nose. She fell backwards, feet going out from beneath her again, her head hitting the wall behind, before she slipped down it, dazed.

She let out a whimper. She knew the back of her head was bleeding without needing to see the blood. Every drop of water hitting it was like a tiny scalpel cut to her skull.

A voice she recognised growled out. "How d'ya like that, Shithead. Not so much fun taking it, is it?"

It was Max, sounding gleeful. Janey felt her Slayer rise to the fore, but before she could leap up and throttle the no-neck in front of her, a boot came out of nowhere and caught her on the jaw, snapping her head sideways into the wall and creating another dull thump.

"Hurry it up, Ladies." She heard Lolitta call out. "The guards ain't gonna be distracted by some slashed up bitch for long."

Janey's vision had cleared enough for her to see the boot heading towards her face again and with a grunt she caught it in both hands, but before she could use it to her advantage Max's own boot came down hard on her knee. There was a crunch, and with a scream Janey huddled over it sobbing.

Another boot to the side caused even more pain when a few ribs snapped. She shoved a hand in her mouth and bit down on it to stop another scream escaping; she wouldn't give them that much satisfaction.

Their laughter mingled with the rushing noise of the showers as cold water continued to rain down on her naked body, making the beating seem even harsher than it was.

Janey struggled to her hands and knees. She sucked in a sharp breath when her stomped on knee touched the floor, but she had to get away. She was either going to puke or pass out with each movement, but it was better than just laying there. One of them planted a final kick on her ass cheek making her slump forward, her knee skittered across the hard, slimy tiles bringing fresh tears.

They were laughing harder now, giggling like school girls every time she winced. A big hand grabbed the back of her soaking hair and pulled her head back roughly. Through the blur of salt in her eyes she could make out Lol's face just inches from her own.

"Don't cry darlin', you're getting off light." Lolitta growled in her ear. "Just wait 'n' see what we do to Wilkin's."

Janey didn't have time to form a coherent thought prior to her forehead being smashed into the slick tiled floor by the Italian-American. And then she didn't care as everything faded to a comforting blackness...


	4. Chapter 4

Thanksfor the reviews and sorry its taking me so long to update.

_**Act three**_

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……………"

"Quick, she's waking up."

Janey thrashed about on the bed, but there were hands holding her down, two pairs of them and a …something across her chest stopping her from sitting up.

"No. Get off; get off of me…please."

She kept her eyes tight shut against the glare of the light. The beam, the beam was making the light, the beam Rik had come out of. She had to get away.

She struggled harder and felt and heard a snap as the restraint across her chest broke. She rolled to the side, opening her eyes as she did so, yanked her arm away from whoever was holding it and kicked out at the person trying to hold her feet.

"Get that damn needle in her!"

Her whole body ached like one big bruise but she pushed it down inside herself, all that mattered was getting away. Janey was about to push off of the bed and roll to the floor when something stung her neck. "Ouch!" She swatted at it but there was nothing there. She made it to her feet, but she didn't have time to put weight on them before they turned to Jell-O and went out from under her. She crumpled to the floor, crying. 'What have they done to me?' She thought before she slipped back into sleep.

"Should you have put that in her neck like that? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" The nurse looked a little worried as she picked herself up from the floor at the foot of the hospital bed.

"No more dangerous than she is by all accounts. Look just get her on the bed and strapped down again. And more straps this time people, lets not repeat our mistakes." The doctor made some marks on a chart and made ready to leave the room.

"I can't believe how much better she's doing since last night. If she carries on at this rate she'll be as good as new in a few hours. Why do you think that is?" Prattled the nurse.

"I don't care, lets just get her out of here and make her someone else's problem as soon as damn possible."

"Yes doctor."

* * *

"Giles, I just remembered about this." Buffy walked into the Watcher's bedroom holding a lump of hardened paper-mache.

Giles looked up from his suitcase to inspect the object in her hand. "Ah well, that is very fortunate indeed. Heaven forbid you would forget…" He prodded it. "…that."

She pouted. "I took it off some vamps last week but with all my self-obsessing and then Dawn's little adventure I forgot to tell you about it."

Xander was sitting on the bed. Reaching over he took the lump from Buffy's hand. "What's it supposed to be…a tail-less mouse.

Buffy snatched it back. "It's a map, or at least it was until my jeans went in the wash." She admitted sheepishly.

Giles sighed. "Do you remember what it was a map of, any details at all?" He carefully folded a sweater and put it neatly into his case.

"Couldn't understand a word of it, but…" She dragged the word out leadingly. "I'm thinking that with everything that's going on, vamps plus maps probably has something to do with our new cult threat, and if it is, it's probably a map showing where the Hellmouth is."

Giles placed a couple of shirts on top of the sweaters. "Yes, you are probably correct."

Buffy beamed.

"It's a great pity it's now useless." He took the lump from her and threw it in the bin.

Buffy huffed loudly. "I thought you were packing last night, aren't you two supposed to be on your way to the airport by now?"

"I have a little time yet. I came upstairs to pack last night and then remembered an interesting text I had on Jupitus and I got caught up in reading that."

"Must have been a riveting read." Said Xander.

"Actually it was more nerve wracking than riveting, and by the time I'd finished reading and cross-referencing with the notes I already had, it was time for Willow and I to do the ritual. I assume she told you the bad news."

"Yep I got the memo. It's all happening tonight. Kennedy's out back putting the girls through their paces right now and Willow's gone into Cleveland to get the supplies she needs to do the spells."

Giles turned from his suitcase to fully face his Slayer. "Buffy, I know you can look after yourself and you no longer have to fight alone, but if you need me in this, if you want me to stay, then I will."

"Giles, it's okay."

"I mean it Buffy. I don't know what else I can do that between you, you can't manage, but if there is something then I'll stay and do it. I hate leaving you, all of you…" He turned to look at Xander. "…in the face of something so dire."

"Don't sweat it G-man, Team Slayer have it all sewn up. You should probably get back to packing; I think there are some of your clothes still in the wardrobe."

Buffy giggled, and then gave Xander a puzzled look when he winked at her.

"Very amusing, Xander, I am barely taking the essentials."

"Essential to what, Giles. You're going for two, three days tops. How many times are you planning on changing your outfit?" The one-eyed man leant over the suitcase inspecting the contents. "I mean you're going to L.A., so you don't need the sweaters for a start." A brown knit sweater came flying out of the suitcase to land further up the bed.

"Xander! What on Earth are you doing?" Giles spun around to glare at him.

Xander looked back innocently, which made it obvious he was up to something.

"Giles he didn't touch it." Buffy told the older man. She'd seen the sweater go flying and Xander's hands hadn't moved from his lap.

"Don't be ridiculous." Spat Giles. He moved to pick it up and put it back.

"And you're going to be in court most of the time wearing a suit, so do you really need three pairs of jeans." The young man continued as two pairs of jeans came flying up to smack Giles on the chest and slide back down to the bed.

"And thermal socks at the beach." A pair of socks bounced off the ex-librarian's head.

"Xander, how are you doing that?" Asked Giles slowly and carefully as if he was reasoning with a time bomb.

"Doing what? I'm just helping you out." Something else came flying out of the case towards Buffy and she instinctively plucked it out of the air.

"Uuughh." She dropped the item as if scalded. "Giles, you are way too old to be wearing underwear like that." She rubbed her hands on her pants and shuddered.

"Thank you for that." He said annoyed and reached down to pick the offending item from the floor. "Now can we leave my pants out of this and concentrate on why Xander suddenly has the power of telekinesis."

"I have no power, telete…kinis or otherwise." Xander splayed his hands and held them palm up, just as Giles' toiletries bag flew through the air and out of the door.

"Oh dear Lord we have a poltergeist." The Watcher moaned. "As if there isn't enough going on to keep us busy. Well now I have to stay. I can't leave you to face the end of the known world and an angry spirit by yourselves, it wouldn't be right."

Buffy looked determined. "No Giles, you have to go. We can deal." She started to throw his clothes back into the case with abandon, chucking in his alarm clock, his passport and the remote to his television as they got in her way. Just as quickly they were thrown back out.

"Buffy stand back, it's dangerous." Called Giles as he ducked one of his dress shoes.

Buffy caught as many items as she could and rammed them all back in. "No. You're needed in L.A. If you don't go it could critically damage Faith's appeal. She's counting on you. Xander will you stop giggling like a little girl and help." She slammed shut the lid and sat on it

"Buffy this is serious." Giles tried to explain.

"No Giles. Nothing is serious except the appeal…well that and the end of the world thing, but one angry spook isn…" She cocked her head to one side, listening. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what?" Asked Giles.

"I thought I heard a …There it was again, a sort of mumbling."

"Buffy I can't…" Giles began but Buffy wasn't listening as she jumped off the suitcase and threw open the lid.

"…do, y cuuld a suffacaated ina thaa grogy box." Was heard plainly by all of them.

Buffy's eyes narrowed and she poked around in the mess of clothes, after a second she pulled her hand back out.

"Don squis sue tight, don squis sue tight."

"Here is your poltergeist." She told Giles holding it up in front of him.

"What is it?" The Watcher peered closer.

"Its one of our housemates." She said, he still looked blank. "A Pixie."

He looked at her like she was mad. "Pixies don't ex…" He didn't finish the sentence. "Well I guess they do after all."

"I can't believe you didn't know. You should have seen your face." Xander was trying to control his giggles but without much luck.

"Your plan, I assume." Buffy thrust the Pixie at Giles and rounded on her best friend.

He nodded. "You were so funny," he told her, "trying to get all the stuff back in as fast as Gawen was throwing them out."

Buffy pushed him off the bed and he hit the floor with a thud and an 'ow' muffled by the carpet.

Gawen was sitting in the palm of Giles' hand swatting at his prodding finger. "Git offa mey, yow grogy bigga."

"It's fascinating." Said Giles. "I can't believe no one told me."

"Thought you knew." Replied Buffy. "They're around a lot. They pop up here, they pop up there."

Xander picked himself up off the floor, somewhat sobered by the impact. "Thanks Gawen, that was way worth the bruises." He said rubbing his elbow.

"Xan-bigga, yow don foget mey berre." With that he jumped off Giles' hand and disappeared.

"You paid him to do that?" Buffy was putting Giles' clothes back in the case again, no more neatly than the first time. "Come on, get ready." She instructed her Watcher.

"I like to think of it more as bartering. Liquid goods in exchange for services rendered, that kind of thing." Xander grinned.

"Well take this down to the truck or I'll render your head from your body." She told him.

"Yes Ma'am." He saluted before grabbing the case and leaving.

When they were alone Giles asked. "Are you sure?"

"For the last time, I'm sure. Now go!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek, handed him his small carry on bag and pushed him towards the stairs.

"And bring her back to me." She muttered under her breath as he descended.

* * *

Faith was out of her cell door as soon as it was unlocked. "Okay Gary, where is she?"

The guard had already moved on to the next door and didn't bother looking up. "Where's who?"

"Janey, my cell-mate. You remember her. Blonde, blue eyes, makes your tongue flop out every time she passes you." She prompted sarcastically.

"I told you last night when you asked. She's in the infirmary."

"Why's she still there?"

"Maybe she's still sick." He opened another door and swung it open.

Faith followed him down the line. "Well what's wrong with her, you must know something?"

"All I know is that she was found in the showers yesterday and she was sick. Do I look like fricken doctor to you."

"No you look like an ass." She told him.

He grinned. "What's it to you anyway Wilkins?"

Faith hesitated. "Well you know, she's young, someone's gotta look out for her in this place."

Gary turned to face her. "Drop the good citizen act Faith, I don't got a say in whether or not you get out tomorrow."

"It's not about that." Faith said, exasperated.

"Well then it's real sweet you care so much." He smirked at her. "But you should be looking to the future, not wasting your time worrying about someone who hasn't even got one."

"Yeah whatever!" Faith stomped away.

* * *

Buffy followed the sounds of grunting to the training field. She slipped through the gap in the hedge and watched as the paired off girls sparred with each other. Kennedy was barking out instructions while pacing back and forth along the hedge, her keen eyes picking up every fault in stance or technique.

Vi spotted Buffy, and ducking and rolling away from a round-house from Alison, made her way over to the senior Slayer.

"She's good isn't she?" The red-head nodded towards the small brunette.

The blonde nodded. "She is, but she needs to train herself. There's going to be no time tonight to have anyone on the sidelines shouting orders. We'll all be in the thick of it."

"Kennedy's not really a sidelines sort of person, she can take care of herself, you don't need to worry about her."

"I worry about all of you." Said Buffy sincerely earning her a smile from Vi. "Now let's see our coach put her money where her mouth is."

Vi returned to where Alison was waiting for her and Buffy strode towards Kennedy, stooping to pick up a blunt stake from a box of them on the way.

"Kenn, you need to train too." She flipped the un-sharpened wood to the other woman. "Stake me!"

Kennedy grinned wide. "I thought you'd never ask." She lunged immediately.

Buffy rolled her eyes, grabbed the out-stretched wrist before it came anywhere near her and with a tug and a sharp twist of her hips, sent Kennedy flying through the air.

"That's the best come back you could think of?" She complained. "Did I teach you nothing?"

The brunette tucked her head in and rolled to her feet effortlessly. Spinning on the spot, she said: "Well I was saving this one."

Her blunt stake was already zipping towards Buffy's chest before she finished speaking. Buffy caught it inches before impact. "Nice try…Oomph!"

Kennedy had followed her stake like lightening and now both Slayers were grappling on the floor for the upper hand.

"That was just the distraction." Kennedy grunted.

* * *

Faith had to wait until after breakfast before she could ask around anymore about Janey, not that it did any good, seeing as everybody claimed they didn't know a thing. It wasn't long before there was only one place left to ask.

Faith sat on the outskirts of the rec room pretending to be engrossed in a magazine while she watched Lol and her cronies play pool on the other side. They'd spotted her ruse instantly, but that didn't matter because it wasn't them she was trying to fool. She couldn't deny that it irked her though to see them laughing like idiots at her, trying to call her out.

It didn't work; she had more patience now and plenty of reasons to use it.

It paid off an hour later. It was time to go to work and a couple of guards had come into the rec room ready to escort the women to their various work stations. Lol didn't work, because Lol didn't do anything she didn't want to, but Max and her ugly twin were both in charge of slopping out the guards toilet block.

Lolitta laughed her pals off and racked up another game of pool with a muttered "Losers."

"Wilkins! You gotta another day on Laundry, so get your ass out here."

Lolitta looked up as the female guard bellowed for her enemy, then looked around the rec room to see where the brunette bitch had got to. She was nowhere in sight.

"Sheesh Ruby, keep it down. Some of us are trying to concentrate." Lolitta lined up a shot and got it.

The guard, Ruby, glared at the Italian-American. "Keep it up, Mancinelli, just keep it up. One more strike and I can have you thrown in solitary for a week, and I can't wait." Irate, she forgot about looking for Faith and stomped off.

Chuckling, Lolitta went back to her game.

There were only a few inmates left on the wing now. Those that for some reason or another were excused from labour duties and it was as peaceful as it ever got. Faith was almost reluctant to disturb it. Almost, but not quite.

With a last glance left and right for guards, she snuck out of the cell she'd been hiding in and was behind the larger woman in an instant, the second pool cue was in her hands and she held it tight against Lol's throat from behind.

Lolitta made choking noises as Faith walked them slowly backwards and through an open cell door. "Nice and easy and I won't crush your windpipe." Faith cooed in her ear, not bothering to disguise the joy this moment was bringing her.

The cue wouldn't fit through the door sideways, but stopped against the door frame allowing Lolitta enough room to wriggle free.

"_Damn_ and that was such a cool move too." Faith commiserated with herself. "Oh well." She grabbed a thick handful of the other woman's dark hair and yanked her backwards into the empty cell. "Not quite as artistic, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

She swung Lolitta around by her hair until her back hit the wall between the bed and the toilet. The Italian-American shot a thick, meaty fist towards the dark Slayer's face and she slapped it away without effort.

"What did you do to her?" She asked.

"Who?"

Faith punched her lightly in the stomach and Lolitta's foul breath rushed out making Faith wrinkle her nose.

"Let's try that again, shall we. What did you do to her?"

"I ain't scared of you Wilkin's, you're not gonna do anything to me." Lolitta pushed herself off the wall and stood defiantly in front of the Slayer.

Faith pushed her back against the wall with a hand to her chest, she raised her other fist to strike. "You wanna place a bet on that, Digby?"

Grinning Lol replied. "Yeah, let's."

"Everything alright in here, ladies?" It was Gary, the guard.

Faith dropped her arms to her sides and stepped back. Tilting her head back and nodding slightly in response, she said: "Five by Five, ain't that right, Lol?"

The bully stepped forward with a big false smile and cupped her large, sweaty palm around Faith's cheek, squeezing it then giving it a few playful slaps for good measure. "You betcha, Faithy." She said sweetly, with extra tooth rotting sugar on top and strolled out of the cell.

"Wilkin's you should be down in Laundry. Get moving. Chief wants to see ya later; you don't want him getting any bad reports today do you."

Faith spun on her heel to face the guard and sucked it up. "No Sir." She replied and left quietly. 'Damn that was too close.'

* * *

Willow and Xander pulled into the driveway at the same time. Xander in the car and Willow in the truck.

"Giles catch his flight okay?" Willow called over as she slammed the door.

"Yep, still don't think he should be going though. If this thing is as bad as he thinks it is, then it's hardly the time to abandon ship." Xander caught up with her as they walked around to the back of the house.

"We can handle it, Xander. We're as prepared as we would be if he was here and it's not like we haven't dealt with stuff without him around before."

Xander smirked. "Yeah and that always works out so well."

"Fine, be pessimistic if you must, but keep it to yourself. Buffy doesn't need to hear it."

The carpenter nodded. "So did you get what you need?"

"Uh huh. I can't wait until I can grow most of this myself though, it will save me a fortune, or well Giles." She added sheepishly. Together they pushed through the gap in the hedge to the training field. "Not sure how I'll grow 'Eye of Newt' though."

"Well, I think you just have to grow the newt, and then the eyes just pop right out when they're ready." Said Xander with a smile.

"Okay, that's gross." Willow grimaced.

"I'd have gone with hot."

Willow looked at him confused. "Huh?"

He pointed, she looked.

"That's not hot, that's my girlfriend!" She backhanded his chest.

Kennedy looked up from where her head was clamped between Buffy's legs in a scissor grip. "Thanks a bunch, Sweetheart."

Buffy noticed her best friends were staring at them and released her grip on the younger Slayer before bouncing to her feet. "Hey guys." She greeted, grabbing Kennedy's hand and hauling her up too. "We were sparring."

"So we saw, looks like you were putting on quite a show." Said Willow indicating the other Slayers standing around watching.

"It was a, sort of, a demonstration." Said Kennedy. She turned to the other girls. "Right, teams of three. Take it in turns to attack the individual in pairs."

Xander grinned. "You want to demonstrate that again, I'm not sure I got it all."

Willow slapped his chest again.

"Hey, that hurts you know."

Buffy smiled apologetically at Willow. "I guess it got a bit out of hand, I'm feeling all pent up with something-or-other." Off of Willow's look she quickly amended. "Not that. Just frustrated, but not in a good way or…I'll tell you what, I'm just making this sound way worse so I'm just gonna…" She looked around for inspiration and found none. "Go for a jog or something."

She saw the look that passed between Willow, Xander and Kennedy. "What?"

"Are you sure that's wise, Buffy?" Asked Willow. "Maybe you should stay and …"

"…Not go off on your own when you're miserable and we have the end of the world happening tonight." Finished Kennedy, matter-of-factly.

Buffy started backing away. "I'm fine, not miserable, just wound up and I need to; wind down. I'll be back in a few hours, okay." She turned and sprinted across the field towards the back lane.

"Do you think she's okay?" Willow looked between her girlfriend and Xander.

Xander shrugged and Kennedy rubbed at a bruise forming on her cheek. "Certainly nothing wrong with her physically."

Willow patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Poor baby, that's what you get for wrassling with someone who isn't me." Kennedy rolled her eyes and turned back to the new Slayers. "I'm going to do this spell. Wanna help Xander?"

"Sure, why not." He followed her into the house.

* * *

Janey woke up and everything was white light. 'I'm ina beam' was the first thing she thought, but after blinking her eyes a few times her vision adjusted and she realised it was just a big spot light hanging above her.

She was lying on a bed coved in crisp white bed linen and the spot light was directly above her face. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't and she felt too drowsy still to fight it. Slowly her hands patted their way down her body and she could feel the thick leather strap pulled taut across her shoulders and another just below her breasts. She only had the use of her fore arms so she couldn't reach further than her waist but she was pretty sure that her legs were strapped down too.

She was just trying to recall everything she'd ever seen about alien abductions and was moving her head from side to side to look for suspicious probes when she spotted the woman, human as far as she could tell or possibly wearing a human mask, come in through the door.

"You're awake already. That shouldn't even be possible. You're a very lucky girl." The woman bustled up to her.

"I'm so lucky I'm strapped to a bed." Janey responded. Feeling her strength returning, she pulled a little at her restraints, testing them. "Where am I?" She demanded.

"You're in the infirmary dear. Now lay still and I'll get these straps undone." The nurse started unclipping the leather from the bed. "You were thrashing around so much when you were out, we were worried you'd tip yourself and your bed straight to the ground and do yourself even more damage."

Janey let that information sink in. "The infirmary?"

"Yes dear. You were brought in last night, don't you remember? You may have some concussion lingering. Just lay still and I'll get you a glass of water. The doctor will be by soon to examine you."

The nurse disappeared to the end of the ward and Janey used the time to sit up. She was dressed in just one of those horrible hospital gowns, the ones that left your ass showing, but that wasn't surprising since she'd been buckaroo naked when she'd been jumped. She rubbed her head, it still ached a bit, but otherwise she didn't feel too bad. She stood up cautiously and stretched.

"No, no, no dear." The nurse hurried back over with a plastic beaker of water. "You must stay in bed until the doctor gives you the all clear. You took a nasty bang to the head when you slipped in the shower."

Janey almost laughed; that was original. "I'm fine, really…" The nurse was looking at her funny and making her nervous, she coughed to hide it. "Um, do I have any clothes to change into?"

The nurse gave her a small smile and handed her some clothes that had been placed beside the bed. "You were pretty cut up when they brought you in. The guard said there were some broken tiles and you landed right in them. Is that true dear?"

Janey nodded. "Yeah, that must have been it. It's all a bit fuzzy." She turned her back to the nurse and shucked off the robe and quickly slipped into the prison uniform provided.

The nurse had taken the opportunity to examine her back. "Well it looks all healed now."

Janey turned back to her when she was fully dressed. "Can I go back on the wing now please?"

The nurse grabbed some paper work from the end of the bed and ticked a few boxes. "Well I guess." She handed the blonde a pen. "Sign here to say you've discharged

yourself. I gotta say dear, most of the women would milk a hang nail for all it's worth rather than going back out there."

Janey handed her back the pen. "I'm not like most women anymore."

* * *

Buffy turned off the back lane pretty quickly after leaving the house behind her and headed instead along tracks made in the brush either by rabbits, or maybe demons, you never knew in Hellmouth towns. She didn't need the plodding of feet along well manicured lanes and strips of asphalt. She needed a real work out to take her mind off things it would do her no good to think of.

The ground was fairly level for a time and she felt the sweat rise as she jumped fallen logs and dodged boulders and thick, wiry bushes full of thorns. At one point she jumped high and used an over hanging branch to swing across a stream without breaking stride.

The rough path she was following through the trees started to slope downwards and she relished the burn in her muscles as she picked up the pace, her legs reaching for a longer stride to accommodate it.

Inside, her mind was rushing as fast as her body, although it seemed more of an uphill struggle.

She knew she had more important things to be worrying about, like impending disaster, but the only thing swirling around in her chaotic brain was the nagging feeling that she should be somewhere else.

Logically she knew that the the Raising and St. Vigeius were more important than supporting a woman who didn't even want her support, but logic sucked. So did vampire cults. So did Faith.

The appeal was tomorrow. It had come around so fast and Buffy wasn't ready for it yet, and how utterly self-obsessed was that thought. Her lover…ex lover…whatever; was stuck in that hole of a prison waiting for tomorrow and Buffy wished that she had a few more days to prepare.

Buffy had known about the place at the school, ha, which had been offered to the dark Slayer right from the start. It was one of the first things Giles had told her once the cat was out of the bag. She'd already had a month to accept it and she thought she had.

Knowing that she would be seeing her in less than forty-eight hours if all went well threw thought straight out the proverbial window. Knowing she was more scared that everything would go well than she was that it wouldn't threw her sanity right out after it, and not just because the sentence didn't even make sense in her own head.

What if Faith hadn't changed her mind since the ill-fated prison visit? Buffy was clingng to the idea that Faith had only pushed her away so hard to protect herself from too much disappointment. The idea that once freed, because that was going to happen, Faith would find it in herself to drop her walls once and for all.

Now Buffy was fast convincing herself that Faith just wasn't that interested in her. Why wouldn't she let her come to the appeal? She could have sat at the back; somewhere Faith couldn't even see her. Buffy knew the whole Angel gang were going to be there and so was Giles, what difference would one more make. She was only little.

Buffy ran on, picking up the pace as her mind did.

'And what do I even say when she gets back here?' She thought worriedly. 'Maybe I can just avoid her until she makes up her mind about what she wants. Or maybe I should confront her straight away with it. Let her know I'm not messing around, not just here for her to play more games with. Maybe I shouldn't mention that right off the bat, maybe I should wait and see what she says. Yeah 'cause Faith has always been big with the sharing, if I don't pry it out of her we'll probably spend the rest of our lives living in adjoining rooms without ever discussing "Us".'

And the worse thing, the very worse thing, about it all was that she wouldn't even know until late the next night. The appeal wasn't until the afternoon and L.A. was three hours behind Cleveland and Giles had promised he'd call as soon as he knew, but he'd also said that the thing could go on for hours. If the vampires didn't kill her tonight, the waiting might kill her tomorrow.

Her sneaker caught on a tree root or something and she flew superman style down the slope for ten yards before impact with the ground knocked the wind out of her and set her off in a forward roll that it took a couple of revolutions to check. Back on her feet she looked around panting and was relieved to see no one had been around to watch her clown tumble, except maybe a few squirrels, but she trusted them not to say anything.

She leaned over with one hand on her knee and another on a tree trunk and got her breathing under control. There was a barbed wire fence just a little further down the slope and she was pleased she hadn't rolled into that, 'cause ouch. She turned and leaned her back against the tree and wiped her sweat soaked brow with an arm to stop the moisture from dripping into her eyes.

"How do I know what to say when I don't even know how to feel?" She asked the world at large. "A part of me wants to kick her stubborn little butt and the other part of me wants to …do other stuff to her stubborn little butt."

She let her head fall back against the tree and gazed up into the fluttering leaves. "Why does life have to be so complicated? Why can't everyone just grow up, meet the boy or girl of their dreams and live happily ever after? Why does it have to be such hard work all the time?"

She answered herself seeing as no one else was going to. "Because Buffy you want your happily ever after to be with your mortal enemy, ex mortal enemy, and you expect 'simple' to factor into it."

A squirrel scurried along a branch and stopped just above her head. It rubbed its tiny front paws together and chattered away at her in its little squirrel-y language. Another one she'd never learned.

"Oh shut up, like you know anything." She snapped at it irritably before running at the wire fence and jumping it.

The other side was made up of road. She looked left and right, decided she didn't know where she was so it didn't really matter and started jogging left, continuing downhill.

Five minutes later she jogged onto Boudenver's main road.

"Buffy need cool, refreshing beverage." The Slayer decided. "To cool over heating brain."

She looked through the plate glass window of "The Mouth". It wasn't all that busy at this time of day, she could pop in and get a milk-shake, have a rest at one of the tables before jogging home.

Or there was the shop a couple of doors down. They sold bottled water which would probably be healthier.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the street to see what else was on offer to the thirsty consumer and they lit up when they came to rest on a brightly painted wooden sign hanging at the end.

"Liquid refreshment here I come." She smiled.

She dug her cell out of her shorts pocket as she walked nearer, pressed a speed-dial button and waited for someone to pick up at the other end.

"Hey Will, it's me. Um, I've got a few things to do in town so I won't be back for a while. Can you pick Dawn up from school for me? Only if it's no trouble though, if you're busy I can text her to get a lift with her friend – she'll be over the moon."

Her free hand rested on the ornately carved wooden door ready to push it open.

"Are you sure, I don't want to …okay, well thanks. I'll see you soon." Buffy flipped her phone shut and pushed her way into the cool dim interior of Barnies.

* * *

Xander popped the top on his bottle and closed the fridge door before joining Willow back at the table.

"So what did the Buffster want? Did she run so far in all her frustration that she's too tired to run back?"

"Nope nothing like that. She just wants for me to pick up Dawn for her. I think she just needs some time to, y'know, de-stress or something. She's probably worried she'll go all grrr on us." Willow had gone back to arranging the spell ingredients she needed. "Right, are you ready for this?"

Xander took a long swallow from his beer, set it to the far end of the table and rubbed his hands together. "Just call me Mickey."

The red-head giggled. "Okay Mickey, what we're doing is a cross between your average locator spell and the demon finding spell with a little splash of something extra so that the power is drawn to the Hellmouth and not just lots of little demons. The three together are little more complicated than usual, but it's nothing I can't handle." She said smugly, before lighting some candles on the table and spreading the map out neatly in the middle.

"Will, I don't mean to rain on your flashy light parade or anything, but shouldn't you be able to just go 'Poof' and know the answer. We are kinda on a time shortage. If this thing's going down at Midnight, then that only gives us eleven hours give or take to stomp it."

"No I can't just go 'Poof'. Not if I wanna stay natural anyway." She pointed a finger to her hair. "Now are you ready. Less talking and more getting ready to sprinkle, okay?"

He nodded and had some more of his drink while he waited for the signal to pour his sand over the map.

Willow finished chanting dramatically and there was a fizzing sound, she gestured at her best friend and as one they sprinkled handfuls of fine powder over the map of Boudenver. Lots of little lights appeared.

"Well what do ya know. We did it." Xander excitedly toasted her with his bottle. "Yay for us."

"No we didn't." Willow looked over her notes again and checked the labels on some of the baggies she had collected. "We missed, or I missed, the little something extra. This is just a standard demon finder." She waved towards the map, still glowing with bright yellow pinpricks in places. "There's not even a big clump anywhere near Pleasant Creek which might indicate the Hellmouth."

"There sure is lots of little ones though."

Willow shook her head. "Sunnydale looked like Christmas in Times Square compared to this." She checked her list of ingredients again. "Okay, I think we'll try a little Harewort, that really brings the evil out."

She emptied a sachet of yellow-green seeds into a beaker, added a little water and lit her Bunsen burner underneath. "This time we're going to make a mist. It'll leave the beaker when it's ready and swirl around over the map." Willow did an imitation swirl with her hands. "Then it will touch down on the map exactly where the Hellmouth is. In theory."

"What does it do when it touches it?" Asked Xander.

"We'll know when it happens." She put two bags and a small plastic pot in front of him. Indicating with her finger she instructed. "First this one, then this one and lastly this one. Got it? Put them in as the colour changes, you'll see what I mean."

"Why can't you do it?" The carpenter wasn't too happy about the idea of magical responsibility.

"I need all of my concentration for the chanting."

They composed themselves. Xander picked up the first baggie to be ready as Willow started her chant. The water and seeds in the beaker had begun to boil resulting in a thick yellow-green cloud of steam. As he watched fascinated it began to turn a darker green.

Fumbling slightly with the small opening he finally managed to get a pinch of the fine powder between his fingertips and sprinkled it into the beaker. There were a series of tiny pops, sounding like miniature explosions a long way off. The colour was a deep grass green now and it wasn't changing yet, but the liquid mass was bubbling away hypnotically.

A minute later it still hadn't changed colour. Xander looked from it to Willow, who was chanting with her eyes closed, and back again. He wanted to tell her it wasn't working but knew that interruptions in a spell casting could be dire. He wondered how many other people in the world could claim that knowledge, or use the word dire in an everyday sentence. He finished his beer while he was waiting and wished he could get up for another one, but the fridge was at least two foot away and he was supposed to be watching the beaker.

Still no change in colour. He looked up at Willow again. She was off with the fairies still. Keeping the little plastic container in one hand so he didn't forget what was next he slid off the chair careful not to disturb anything on the table. If Willow was aware of his movement she didn't show it.

He quickly moved to the fridge and opened it, but kept his eye on the beaker while his hand groped around inside for a bottle. Damn! He knew he had one in here somewhere.

The mist was getting thicker and spiralling up into the kitchen and was that a slight bluish tinge it was taking on? Xander stuck his head inside the fridge grabbed the beer his fingers had been inches from and hurried back to the table.

It was a definite blue now. He popped the top on the plastic pot grabbed a pinch of the tiny dried brown leaves and let them fall into the blue boiling mass.

Instantly the beaker let out a high pitched squeal, and Xander almost dropped his now open bottle onto the table. Willow's chanting had grown louder and the contents of the beaker turned a brilliant orange.

"Damn!" Xander muttered. He put his beer down, it nearly tipped but he stopped it and pushed it away from him. "Which bag is it?"

There were half a dozen scattered about the table top. Surely it would be the one nearest him. He picked it up eagerly, but it looked a lot like the first one he had sprinkled in. He picked up a few more that were closer than the big bunch but none of them looked like the one Willow had pointed to. A quick glance at the red-head showed her with her head thrown back silently screaming the spell words into the kitchen. It would have been scary had he not once witness a big snake come out of her mouth.

Suddenly a little see-through bag on the floor caught his eye and he stooped quickly to pick it up.

"It has to be this one, that's why I didn't see it before because I knocked it onto the floor."

The orange liquid was glowing brightly now and the mist was wrapping its tendrils around empty air, creating twisted shapes that hurt the eye.

As quick as he could, Xander poured some of the…well what looked like mouse droppings so best not to go there, into his palm and tipped it into the beaker, careful to stand back and away from the steam.

He didn't stand back far enough. A shock wave hit him and he fell back against the kitchen cupboards. Glass smashed and Willow gave a scream as her chair tipped backwards and hit the floor.

* * *

Kennedy rushed into the kitchen and scanned around for people. She'd heard Willow scream, but the air in here was thick with orange smoke and it was difficult to see anything.

"Willow, are you okay?" She called out.

"She's here, she's fine." Xander assured from somewhere on the floor. "Open a window."

Kennedy opened the big windows above the sink; by the time she'd turned back the air had cleared a little. She moved over to where Xander was helping Willow stand up.

"You okay?" She asked again, easily taking Willow from the one-eyed man and walking her over to one of the still upright chairs.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine. I guess the spell was a bit more violent than I remember. It's never had quite that much kick to it before." Willow sat down gingerly. "I must have gotten some of the ingredients wrong, or maybe I messed up the chant a little. Why's there beer all over the place?"

"My bottle smashed when the spell hit." Xander started to quickly clear it as he reluctantly fessed up . "Look Will, I don't think it was the chant, I think it might have been the ingredients."

"How could you know something like that?" She asked, curiously.

"Because I, well I sorta…see, I kind of think I may have got one wrong." He stammered.

"How? I put them all in order for you." Willow frowned at Kennedy who was trying to wipe at her face with a damp cloth. "What?"

"You have orange soot all over your face, baby."

"Oh." She let her girlfriend clean her face up.

"They sort of got out of order. Its possible, that is, it could be possible that I put the wrong one in last." Xander cringed under her glare.

"Uh Willow."

Irritably the red-head looked back to Kennedy and took the proffered hand mirror without looking into it. "So not only did you nearly get us both exploded and stinky beer all over the place you also just wasted time and ingredients because you couldn't count to three."

"Hey…" Xander started to protest, but Kennedy cut him off.

"Willow, it's a little worse than that. Look in the mirror."

Willow did so. "Oh my… Where are my… EYEBROWS!"

* * *

Faith was trying to tame her hair a little before the lunch bell rang, she had a meeting with the big chief after and she wanted to look her best. The steam in the laundry room always caused it to frizz a little and she hated it.

She cranked the tap and waited until the water cleared, wet her fingers and pulled them through her dark mane a few times. Realising that she'd done the best she could, but not happy about it, Faith turned off the tap and was about to leave the cell when the door was opened from the outside.

"J, where the hell you been?" Faith breathed a sigh of relief to see the younger inmate back in one piece.

"Sick room." Janey shrugged and went to the small, cracked mirror that the brunette had just been using. There were a couple of yellow smudges across one eyebrow and another patch below her bottom lip, but otherwise all the evidence of her beat-down was gone.

"Well, what happened?" Faith asked impatiently. "Musta been pretty bad to keep a Slayer down over night."

Janey kept her back turned as she answered. "I slipped in the shower."

Faith burst out laughing. "Yeah, good one, bet it was the flying pig that had you distracted right?"

The blonde didn't respond and Faith calmed down, frowning again.

"What really happened? You can tell me."

"I just did tell you. That's what happened."

Faith grabbed the blonde by the elbow and made her turn around. "Cut the bullshit, J, I know it had something to do with Lolitta and her Pit Bulls so just spit it."

Janey pulled her arm free and retreated a few steps. "It was nothing important, just a misunderstanding…"

Faith interrupted her. "Misunderstanding my ass. She's got no call to be messing with you. It's me she wants…"

"Faith, it had nothing to do with you, and I'm fine anyway so won't you just forget about it?"

"No I won't forget about it. If they wanna piece of me, then fine, I can handle it, but you should not be getting dragged into this." Faith ran a hand through her damp hair, trying to straighten it some more, while she thought what to do next. "I'm gonna go settle this once and for all." The brunette decided and was all set to leave the cell and find the Italian-American prisioner, guards or no guards.

It was Janey's turn to grab Faith's arm. "No! It's my problem, not yours. I don't want you getting involved."

Faith shook her hand off roughly. "Too late."

"Faith you can't do anything to her. What about tomorrow?"

"But she…I can't let her get away with hurting you J, you're in my care, it's not right."

"But don't you see, by going and having it out with her, you're just playing straight into her hands. That's just what she wants." Janey looked away for a second before meeting Faith's eyes again. "She told me they were going to get you too; you have to stay out of her way until you go to court".

Faith was about to argue some more, but the door was pushed open again and one of the female guards was standing there. "Come on Blondie, the Governor wants to see you."

Janey was escorted from the cell and Faith sat down on her bunk. She'd lost her appetite and her fists were itching all thanks to Lolitta Mancinelli.

* * *

Willow frowned at the little stubby pencil Kennedy was holding up to her face.

"Kenny, I realise we haven't been together all that long, but please tell me you know my eyebrows were never black, well except that one time, but usually not.

"It's all I have." Her girlfriend pointed out. "I can go and raid Buffy's room if you like?"

"Couldn't you just do a glamour or something?" Asked Xander, he was standing over by Goorzar's chewed box; firmly in the demon dog, uh ape, house.

Willow considered it, but then shook her head. "I could, but I shouldn't. Its part of the: 'Magic for personal gain' package I'm trying to stay away from." She sighed and hopelessly run her fingertips over the bare skin her eye-brows once occupied. "I can't pick Dawnie up like this?" She grumbled.

Xander stopped leaning against the wall and stepped closer. "I'll go."

Willow turned to him, causing Kennedy to withdraw her hand quickly, lest she poke her in the eye. "No you can't Mr Boozy Breath."

"I've only had …"

"Save it for someone who isn't concerned about your liver and my face." The pale crescents above her eyes stood out even more as Willow's face grew red.

"What's your face got to do with me having a drink?" Xander's annoyed tone matched his best friend's.

The red-head angrily poked a finger at her forehead. "What do you think?"

Kennedy quietly rose from her kneeling position at Willow's feet and retreated towards the back door. "I'll go get Dawn."

Xander and Willow ignored her as they faced off over the kitchen table.

"I'm sick of this." Xander banged a palm down on the smooth wood. "Any time anything goes wrong around here it has to be because I had a drink…"

"This is because you had a drink, Xander. We were in the middle of a spell, obviously a very sensitive one, and you were too drunk to do your part."

"I am not drunk, and anyway, you know I'm no good with that magic stuff, it's beyond me."

"You only had to count to three."

"Yeah well maybe that's beyond me too, what can I say? I'm sorry I blew your eye-brows off. Are you happy now?"

"Oh yeah, now I'm happy. Your most sincere apology has caused all the little hairs to grow back where they should be."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Will."

"Yeah well being a drunk doesn't suit you!"

"Well what can I tell ya, it must be in my genes." He turned and left through the back door. "Kennedy wait up."

"Where are you going?" Willow shouted to his back.

"To piss some more up my family tree, see ya." And he was gone.

Willow stood with her palms flat on the table and fought back tears. She hated fighting with Xander, she always had, but his drinking, his painted over depression, were driving her crazy. How could she help him, if he wouldn't even admit to there being any help needed?

Brushing some strands of red hair out of her face she looked down at the map, wondering what she could try next to locate the Hellmouth.

"Oh shoot,…" There, right in the centre of Pleasant Creek, which was nearly central to Boudenver, though you wouldn't know it unless you were told, was a cross neatly burned into the paper map. "... it worked!" She slouched into the nearest chair with a quiet, dejected "Yay."

* * *

Janey sat in the hard, straight-backed chair and watched as the 'Big, white chief', as Faith called him, adjusted the blinds at his window and turned to sit in a padded leather seat across from her.

"Janey. We both know you didn't slip in the shower. Please do not insult me by suggesting otherwise. I know the, uh, residents here have a certain code of honour amongst themselves, but we, I, can't make the system any better unless people are honest with me. Now please, tell me who attacked you?" The head of Stockton Correctional Facility had a surprisingly gentle voice for someone in his position.

"No one."

The prison governer sighed deeply. "Whoever did this to you is extremely dangerous, if you keep quiet, it only gives her the opportunity to do it again."

"There's nothing wrong with me, you can see that."

He shook his head slowly from side to side. "Not now, no…" Janey could see him trying to work that one out. "You were lucky there was no lasting damage, someone else might not be so lucky."

Janey thought about Faith, hoping she wasn't gunning for revenge while she was stuck here in this office. There were worse things than getting beaten up.

"I need to go." She said.

For the first time in the meeting, the Governor's tone turned cold. "You'll go when I say and not a second before and if you insist on trying to hide the culprit from me then you will be sat in that chair a very long time, do you understand me, young lady?"

"Yes sir." She answered sullenly.

"So, start talking."

Janey sat there, staring at the wall just past his left ear.

The Governor tapped his fingers on the desk while he waited. When it was obvious she wasn't going to talk, he blew out an exasperated breath and changed tack.

"Faith Wilkins is your cell-mate, is that correct?"

She nodded.

"She hasn't, before her recent vacation, been allowed to share with anyone for some time. After what happened to her last cell-mate, well we decided it was best not to put her in that situation again.

"The decision to place you in with her came from higher up in the system than I, it most certainly would not have been my recommendation, but the powers that be wanted to determine just how much of a people person she has become before unleashing her back into society." He chuckled. "You could probably sue them, you know, if you wanted to."

Janey was beyond confused. "What are you talking about? Why would I want to sue the Powers That Be for putting me in the same cell as Faith?" She thought about it for a moment, she didn't really understand all this higher power stuff yet, she didn't think Faith did either considering she always glossed over those details of the Slayer History, but… "I should probably send them a gift basket or something."

It was the Governor's turn to look confused. "You enjoyed your time in the infirmary, that much?"

"I don't remember my time in the infirmary, apart from leaving it." Her brain finally caught up with what he'd been saying before. "They were testing Faith by putting me in with her?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry for it. I tried to tell them it wasn't a safe idea, but…"

"Are you kidding? If it wasn't for Faith, I'd probably be dead or insane by now."

"Well you needn't worry anymore. All you have to do is tell the truth and you'll be moved to another cell immediately and I promise you, she won't be able to…"

He wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"You think Faith beat me up?" She asked incredulous.

"I understand you are scared of her, but you really don't need to…"

"Faith didn't beat me up!" Janey shouted over the top of him.

"She didn't? Are you sure?" He looked completely bewildered by this turn of events.

"Of course I'm sure, it wasn't Faith, it was, well never mind, but it wasn't Faith. Faith is the only person here I'm not afraid of." 'Because she's like me,' she thought.

"Really, but I thought…"

"Seriously, you thought wrong. I've heard stories about her past from Faith and she's told me some pretty scary stuff, but Faith wouldn't hurt anyone, not now. Do you really think she'd be dumb enough to beat me up a couple of days before her court case?"

His expression clearly said "Yes".

What he said instead was: "I don't even know how all of this came to court again in the first place. Faith isn't the worst inmate we've ever housed but she was far from being a model prisoner before her little escape. For that alone, she should be serving another two years, not getting out twenty-years early. It's those Wolfram and Hart bastards…" He suddenly realised he was talking this way with an inmate and not a colleague and shut his mouth with a snap.

"Maybe she's really changed, and just wants a second chance." Janey offered.

"Or maybe she just really wants to get out of here. I hate to imagine what is so hellishly diabolical out there to be worth the amount of self-control she has had to employ in recent months." He shook his head again, clearly mystified with it all.

* * *

Buffy twirled the umbrella around in her turquoise drink. "So Alex, you're a humble barman by day, but a super-cop by the cover of darkness. That's quite the double life you're leading." She smiled up at him.

Alex cleaned the bar in front of Buffy with a drip cloth for like the fiftith time, it was quite sweet how attentive he was being.

"Well I'm not so much a super-cop. I'm more just a …cop. There's not much super to me." He grinned.

"Well I think you're pretty super." Buffy slurped the last of her cocktail noisily through her straw. "And may I say, that's a fine…" She leaned across the bar, one hand on the sparkling surface to steady herself, and reached for him. "…uh, chin of hair, you've got going for you." She giggled slightly and tried to stroke his beard, but he backed out of the way, self-consciously.

"Thanks." He tried to think of something else to say. "So you, ah, you like men with beards?" He asked, kinda hopeful.

"God, no." Buffy started laughing and totally missed the barman's hurt expression. "I like my men naked." Slowly she gripped the edge of the bar and blushed as her brain caught up with her mouth, with a grimace she dug herself deeper. "I mean face naked, obviously, naked on the face not on the body, like Faith is." She finished her babble and stared miserably into her empty glass.

Confused and intrigued, Alex took a step back to the bar. "This Faith, she has a hairy body then?"

Buffy's head jerked up, her eyes flashing. "No of course not. Faith has a beautiful body. Everyone knows that." She snorted.

Realising he'd overstepped a mark somewhere, but having no clue where, Alex offered a tentitive "Sorry."

Buffy gave him a sad smile. "Don't be, it's not like you've seen it. Well not yet anyway. Give it a couple more weeks." She rested her head on her arms, thoroughly dejected. "Can I have another drink?"

Alex jumped to it. "Certainly." He rushed away from her to fetch the drink wondering if he should phone his new friend to pick this girl up. It wasn't that she was drunk, she was just really, really intense. If he put one foot wrong with this girl he had a feeling he'd get more than a glare, and he couldn't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth around this crazy new bunch.

* * *

Kennedy and Dawn arrived back in time to find a harrassed Willow trying to organise the delivery of twenty pine bed frames and eighteen mattresses.

"But why would we order a different number of mattresses to beds." The red-head was trying to reason."

"I don't know," the delivery man replied calmly, "but you did and here they are." He waved his arm around to encompass the chaos. "So now you need to sign for them. And the guy on the phone said there'd be people here to carry it all in. We're short staffed today and I'm not doing it all alone."

Kennedy joined her girlfriend on the gravel driveway. "What is it Willow?"

"Well the beds are here, but not all the mattresses and I didn't know they were turning up, no one called to tell me, and now I have no idea what to do with them all. Andrew's inside trying Xander's cell but there's no answer and he was supposed to be here to deal with all this. Giles left everything with him and I don't know where he's put it." Willow seemed close to panic point and Kennedy put an arm around her.

"Xander's at Barnies, I just dropped him off."

"Figures." Willow muttered, but Kennedy just kept talking.

"We don't need all twenty mattresses tonight anyway, lets just get what we've got into the dormitory and Xander can worry about what's missing when he gets back."

"Someone's gotta move them." The delivery driver reminded them. "And you need to sign or I can't leave any of them."

"We have to sign even though you got it wrong, shouldn't we wait until it's put right?" Asked Willow, looking at her girlfriend.

"Well you just said you can't do that right now, and company policy dictates…" His eyes glazed as if he was reading from an inner script. "…that there will be no delivery of goods without a customer signiture to confirm that said delivery has been made. We gotta cover ourselves you know. Without your signiture we have no authorisation to take your money."

"So you are worried that we're going to run off in the middle of the night with twenty beds and then you won't get paid?" Asked Dawn, joining the conversation.

The guy nodded. "The world is not an honest place." He leaned heavily against his van, getting comfy, but was startled back to attention when Kennedy let out a shrill whistle.

"I could phone your superior." Willow threatened meekly.

"Go ahead. He tells me you can have the beds without signing then you can have them." He shrugged and Willow looked pleased about her break-through.

Kennedy grabbed the clip-board out of the guys hands and signed on the dotted line.

"Kennedy!" Willow couldn't believe she'd just done that.

The brunette handed the guy back his board and started to organise the Slayer's that had come to her whistle. "We've more important stuff to worry about than the beds. We can pick up whatever else we need tomorrow, if we still need them." She gave Willow a look that clearly added the words "After tonight." to the end of her sentence.

The Slayers, in two's, picked up the beds and started to carry them out the back to the sleeping barn.

The delivery driver watched. "So what do you need all these beds for anyway?"

"We have a big family." Kennedy explained straight-faced as she grabbed one end of a bed and gestured for him to grab the other. "Come on." She added when he was slow to comply. "We haven't got all day."

* * *

Mellusa looked at her wonderful robe hanging on the back of her door. It was magnificent. The rich reds, blues and greens would really bring out the yellow of her eyes later that night. She stroked the crushed velvet material lovingly before looking over her shoulder to the other vampire in the room.

"Sally, it is nearly time. Help me to prepare."

Sally moved forwards and deftly helped Mellusa out of her expensive but plain black dress and into the fabulous robe.

* * *

"So then, after a night of wonderful love-making she just ups and go's." Buffy lamented, picking apart a slice of lime.

"Uh-huh." Alex was blushing the blush of the completely embarrassed, but the blonde didn't seem to notice, or maybe she just couldn't see it under all his yucky hair, he thought grimly. He really wanted another customer to come in and save him, but it was still early and he didn't have much hope.

"And now she's coming back probably and I'm supposed to just deal with it, which…I mean of course I'm happy she's getting out of prison, but…"

"Prison?" Alex enquired weakly.

"Yes, but she didn't do it. Well okay she did do it, but she's better now, I think. What do you think I should…?"

There was a bang at the door. Why the hell would anyone knock on an unlocked bar door. Alex was about to call out 'come in', but Buffy shh's him.

"S'okay, I'll handle this, it might be monsters." She giggled a little and winked. Placing one hand on the bar she started to climb down from her stool. She nearly made it but the banging came again and her foot slipped landing her on her ass on the sticky floor. "Oh Gross!"

Alex looked over the bar to make sure she was okay. She was, in fact she was already getting to her feet when the door to the bar burst open and Xander weaved his way into the dim interior.

"Hey guys, heh heh, I was trying to get through the wrong door." He pointed back towards the double doors, one was latched from the inside but the other wasn't, he swayed wildly.

"Xander what are you doing here?" Asked Buffy, she took a step forward, wobbled and decided to stay where she was and clutch tightly at the stool she'd just fallen from. "And you're drinking!" She accused. "After we talked about the you …with the drinking…" Buffy covered her mouth too late to hide the noisy burp. "…whoops."

The bottle Xander was carrying waved around in the air without his consent. He stopped walking and frowned at the hand attached to it, but that didn't stop it sloshing about. He centred his attention back on the blonde Slayer.

"Yeah well so are you." He pointed to her half empty glass on the bar. "And you're supposed to be saving the world tonight, missy, I'm not," he reminded her cheerfully.

Alex looked from one to the other.

"Good point." Buffy clambered back onto her stool and patted the one next to her invitingly.

Xander accepted. "So what are you doing here? This is my sanctuary from the madness. I can't have the madness following me." Xander griped, but there was no oomph to it. "Beer please, Al, and one for yourself and the Buffster?"

"You can't drink the bottle in here, buddy." Alex mentioned apologetically.

"Sure thing." Xander handed his half empty bottle over to the barman. "Don't like the stuff anyway." He confided. "I just went in to the shop to get some mints and it was calling my name." He accepted the beer Alex pushed in front of him, while patting his pocket for some money. Pulling out some notes he giggled. "I think I forgot the mints."

Buffy was paying no attention. "Can I have another of those green thingies instead of a beer? I probably shouldn't mix my drinks, y'know, I don't want to get drunk." She hiccupped to Alex. "I have a lot to do tonight."

"World Savage!" Xander grinned at her and slapped his palm on the bar top.

"You know it, baby." She said back, sucking up some more of her drink.

Alex watched the pair of them chatter nonsense to each other while he swiftly drank the beer Xander had just brought for him. Luckily he didn't have to be on duty tonight.

* * *

Janey closed the door respectfully behind her. Thank God that was over with. She hadn't told the Governor a thing about what had happened, but he'd gone on and on about Faith. It seemed like he was itching for a reason to have her appeal cancelled and he was the one person who could do it before tomorrow. If the big white chief filed any kind of bad report against Faith the appeal could be snatched out from under her without ever getting to court.

A guard was waiting outside the door to take her back through the dull corridors and barred doors to the wing, she gave him a little smile but he just ignored her and walked off, expecting her to follow.

They were nearly back on the wing, only one corridor left to walk down. It was all cupboards and closets full of supplies down here, and one rest-room block – guards not inmates.

Her guard escort had just finished locking the gate at the beginning of this, when his walkie-talkie buzzed to life. He pulled it from his belt and listened. Janey couldn't make out a word with all the static but the guard was obviously trained in these things for he swore at whatever he heard and started unlocking the gate again.

"I gotta go see to that. Walk straight to the end and get the guy at the other end to let you out. You want to hide in one of these cupboards be my guest, but be warned they all get locked at night." He left it at that and went back through the gate, locking it behind him and disappeared.

Janey huffed and made her way down the hallway. Why would she want to hide in one of these closets? As some part of a brilliant escape plan? Yes, it would have to be very brilliant with steel bars blocking either end. Everyone in here automatically assumed she was a criminal; it was starting to get her down. She'd never had so much as a detention in her old life. She'd never…and suddenly she was being pulled off to the side

"Get off…" She snapped, digging her heels in to stop her from being dragged out of the corridor and into the dark. "…me." It didn't work, she kept her balance but couldn't avoid going through a door she didn't remember being open. She pulled her arm away and tensed, expecting the worse, just as a meaty hand was clasped over her mouth.

* * *

"Why am I even handcuffed, it's not like I've done anything wrong. I'm getting my God damned golden handshake." Faith moaned as she was escorted along the corridors towards the Governor's office.

"It's the rules." Said the guard, it was Tony.

"Then how come Janey wasn't handcuffed?"

"Janey ain't a trouble maker like you."

"Aw come on Tony, ya know you're gonna miss me." Faith drawled.

"Don't make me laugh, who'd miss you."

Faith sneered and gave him the bird before walking into the Governor's office.

* * *

"So basically you just came in here to steal my friend." Said Xander, continuing an argument that had been going on some time.

"No I didn't. I came in because I was thirsty." Buffy leaned back on her stool for a stretch and broke into giggles when she nearly fell off the back.

"Uh-huh, yes you did. Just like you stole Willow from me back in tenth grade."

"I did not steal Willow from you!"

"Prove it."

"You've still got Willow." Buffy shook her head at him. "Dumbass."

"Yeah, but she's not the same. She's all…" He waved a hand around while he tried to think of a suitable word. "…not the same." He settled on.

"Nothing's the same." Agreed Buffy.

Xander nodded morosely. "And Faith."

The blonde looked at her best friend. "Huh, what's not the same about Faith?"

"She used to be mine too, until you told her it was wrong."

Buffy stared at him in amazement, slowly the tips of her mouth turned up and she was grinning. It wasn't long before her sides were aching with laughter. "Is that what she told you?" She panted when she could breathe again. "Is that how she let you down gently?"

"Well no, she didn't really, so much as say anything. She more just put her hands around my throat and squeezed, like this." He mimed the action. "I didn't really need the "Can we just be friends" speech after that." He finished his beer with one mouthful. "But I know it was all your fault."

She slipped off her bar stool and kissed the side if his head. "Thanks Xander, that was just what I needed." She told him sarcastically. "Know what I need now?"

"I'm on it." He pulled some more money free from his pocket and called Alex over from where he was hiding in the corner for some reason.

"Actually I was looking for pee, but…" She clapped him on the back with enough force to tip his stool forward and make him cough. "…good idea."

* * *

The beds were in the barn just before the heavens opened and dumped a whole load of water on Boudenver. Everyone at Sunset Camp went running back to the main house before they were drenched.

"We can make the beds up later." Said Willow quickly moving to put the stove on to heat the kitchen. That rain was cold.

"Yeah, it's not like any of us are going to get an early night anyway." Agreed Vi.

Kennedy stood looking out of the kitchen window at the downpour. "Means we can't do any more training either, unless we want to get wet doing it."

"What about the training barn?" Dawn started to make hot drinks for everyone.

Andrew helped her. "Xander said it still leaks."

"The sleeping barn doesn't leak, does it?" Alison shivered. They'd only been out in the rain a couple of minutes but she was still wet all over. "I'm going up to get changed."

A couple of the other girls followed her up, Rona brought up the rear. "Me too, I'd hate to die of pneumonia before I can get my butt killed tonight."

Andrew answered everyone's looks. "No, the sleeping barn is fine, me and Xander checked.

"Speaking of Xander, how's he going to get back in this rain?" Dawn set drinks down around the table.

"Ask me if I care." Grumbled Willow, sipping at her tea.

"Okay, well what about Buffy?" Dawn tried again.

"Yeah, she has been gone ages." Kennedy agreed. "And if she's still out jogging she might need someone to go get her."

Willow dragged herself to her feet. "I'll try her cell."

* * *

"Buffy don't beat yourself up over it, there was nothing you could have done." Xander patted a sobbing Buffy gently on the back, which was shaking with the force of her crying.

"It is… my… fault." Her words came out haltingly as she tried to catch her breath. Once caught, she used it to wail even louder. "It's my entire fault, if I hadn't…"

Xander interrupted her. "No, Buffy. Faith made some bad choices, now she has to cope with the consequences. She'll be fine, wait and see."

"But…but…but I made her do it an' …and then…she…she…she…"

"Alex can I have another beer, when ya got a minute." The one-eyed man lost interest in the Slayer for a second when he realised his glass was empty again.

The barman warily made his way over. The bar had gotten a little busier in the last hour and he'd been able to keep away from his new friends, which had been good seeing as Buffy hadn't stopped crying since she arrived back from the restroom. Alex didn't have a clue what had happened in there to get her in such a state.

"Buffy, are you okay?" He asked cautiously as he placed a beer in front of Xander.

The blonde raised her tear-stained face from her arms and peered blearily at him. "I could…could use an…another drink." She decided after thinking about his question.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't I look s…sure?" She asked defiantly, her words lost they're threatening edge when combined with puffy red eyes still leaking water and a trembling lower lip.

Alex nodded and fixed her the green cocktail she'd been enjoying for the past few hours.

Buffy let her head drop back to her arms satisfied and kept up her tale of woe. "I shouldn't have forced her to…to…to…"

Alex mouthed. "Is she okay?" To the dark haired man at her side.

"Sure, a bit broken-recordy at the moment, but she'll pull out of it." Said Xander sipping at his drink.

"So this is all over some girl? This Faith girl?"

"If I hadn't pushed…th…things…" Babbled Buffy to the bar top. "She wouldn't have…we could have…but I did…an…an…now she…"

"Yep." Xander leant his elbows on the polished wood and got comfy for a chat with Alex. "They kind of have this bond, which Buffy suddenly wants to explore, but then Faith had to go away for a while…" He stage whispered behind his hand even though Buffy was still talking on oblivious to him. "…_to prison_." He switched to speaking normally again. "Her appeal is tomorrow, so fingers crossed." He finished without crossing his fingers.

"But I need her!" Buffy wailed particularly loudly, causing a few customers to look over to them.

Alex cleared his throat and started wiping down the bar top in front of him. "Xander, tell me if I'm out of line here, but are you running a gay commune up at that camp of yours."

"What?" Surprised by the question Xander sat back in his stool a little. "I'm not gay!" He turned to Buffy for her agreement and flinched to find her staring straight at him aggressively. "I'm not." He said weakly.

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?" She snapped at him, furiously wiping the tear tracks from her cheeks as she glared.

"Yes I have." He lied.

"Don't give me that crap Xander. Jeez, why do I even bother?" She swallowed the cocktail in front of her and climbed down from her stool. She nearly slipped when her butt left the padded seat, but Xander reached out an arm and steadied her.

Once on her feet she pushed his arm away irritably. "I don't even know what I'm doing here. It's not like any of you even care about Faith and me anyway. I should go where I'm needed…" Buffy gestured about her aimlessly as she talked, or ranted as was the case.

"How about staying where you're wanted instead." Said Xander carefully. "Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"

"Huh, wanted, don't make me laugh." Buffy did laugh, but it was a chilly sound. "I hear you talking you know, all the time, Kennedy isn't the only one with Slayer hearing, you people seem to forget that, but I can hear you too. You're all sick of me whining; well I can make it stop."

"What's slayer?" Asked Alex, but Xander waved a hand to shush him.

"Okay Buffy, you're giving me a major wiggins here. You have mad scientist written all across you, like you're planning on taking over Metropolis." Xander reached out to touch her arm again. "Just calm down and talk to me."

"No the time for talking is passed Xan, you guys don't want me here and maybe Faith doesn't want me there, but she needs me…even if she doesn't know it." Her voice softened. "She needs me, Xander."

Xander slid off of his stool and stood in front of her. "But no, 'cause we need you too. You need to stay and fight the vampires. Faith will be okay, she has Giles."

"Vampires." Alex had a chuckle in his tone; Xander waved his hand at him again.

"I have to go to her Xander; I can't let her face this alone."

A high pitched ringing made all three of them jump, and drew more stares from the other patrons.

It came again and this time just Buffy jumped, then giggled slightly. "That tickles." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell.

She pulled it close to her face to make out the caller i.d. and it rang a third time, vibrating Buffy's hand. It slipped from her fingers and bounced off the sticky floor.

"Damn." She muttered.

Xander was staring down at it too, when it rang for a fourth time and vibrated loudly against the wooden boards, he asked. "So are you gonna answer it or just watch it.?"

"Oh yeah." The Slayer leaned down and scooped it up, toppled forward and grabbed at Xander to stop herself. Leaning her head on her best friends arm, she pressed the green button on her phone. "Hello?"

She looked up excitedly. "It's Willow."

"Oh cool, say hi from me." Began Xander. "No wait, on second thoughts, don't."

Buffy spoke into the phone again. "Xander doesn't say Hi." She looked back at her drinking buddy. "Are you and Willow arguing Xan, why didn't you say something?"

"Well I tried," he started casually enough, but, "but I couldn't be heard over the Faith monologues!"

"There's no need to be like that." She snapped back.

From the phone came a tinny voice yelling. "Buffy. Buffy. Buffy. Buffy if you don't talk to me right now, I'll turn Dawn into a rabbit."

Buffy panicked a bit and quickly put the phone back to her ear. "I'm here, Will, I was just distracted by Xander being a spaz." She listened quietly for a second before saying: "That's a good idea Will, but there's one little problem with it." Pause. "Well that's kind of the thing; I won't be able to do that…" Pause. "Will, before you get mad, can I ask one more tiny, teensy little favour from you, pretty please." Pause. "Can you give me a lift to the airport when you get here, ooh and bring my credit card, it's in..." Buffy pulled a face and held the phone away from her ear.

* * *

"…your butt out in the rain and sober up, I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Do not have another drink, do not pass go, do not do anything but wait for me. BOTH OF YOU." Willow slammed the phone back into its cradle on the wall and turned to the rest of the room, eyes rolling. "I swear those two will be the death of me, before any big baddie is." She moved to the coat closet in the hall and started pulling on a waterproof jacket.

"What is it, Willow?" Asked Kennedy.

"I don't know, but I know I'm not happy about it. Buffy's with Xander and they're both drunk."

Dawn joined them in the hall. "Buffy's drunk? I knew it was worse than she was letting on. Was she crying? I want to come too."

"Dawn, sweetie, it'll be easier if you stay here, please? She wasn't crying, I don't think. Stay here and I'll bring them both straight back, I hope." Willow reached for her car keys.

"Well it's not like I'm gonna argue is it? You might turn me into a bunny." Dawn grumbled.

"Oh Dawnie, you know I would never…" Willow gave up, there were more pressing matters. "I wouldn't mind if you came though," She gave Kennedy a hopeful smile. "If that's okay, it's just, I might need a hand restraining her."

"Restraining her from what?" Asked Dawn sounding even more worried than before. Kennedy just quirked an eyebrow.

"I think she's planning on going to L.A." Answered the witch and left via the front door.

Kennedy grabbed a coat, shrugged at Dawn and hurried after her girlfriend.

* * *

"So she wants to head west for the appeal?" Kennedy asked over the squeak of the wipers working full speed.

"She wanted a lift to the airport."

"But you're not going to give her one."

Willow shook her head as she strained to see the dark road through a curtain of rain.

"How could she do this, go and get drunk, tonight of all nights?" The small Slayer grumbled from the passenger seat.

"She'll be okay when she needs to be." Said Willow positively.

"I hope so, because she's not going to be any good to me if she can't stake straight."

Willow turned and smiled indulgently at her girlfriend, before frowning at the rain again. "We're gonna get wet tonight." She grumbled.

* * *

"I get why you are getting dragged home like a naughty teenager. You're trying to jump ship, which as metaphors go is actually a pretty good one tonight." Xander pulled his coat around him tighter and sloshed about in the puddles. "But why do I have to come too."

"I don't know." Buffy admitted. Looking up cheerfully she added. "Hey, you could come to California with me."

Xander looked at her as his mind turned the idea over and over. Eventually he said: "No, I can't. I don't have any money to pay for a ticket." He looked disappointed. "Maybe next time."

"I'll pay, I have lots of money on my card. I think." Buffy hopped up and down on the spot, mindless of the splashes she was creating. "Come on, it'll be fun. We can be like Faith's cheerleaders or something."

Xander started warming to the adventure. "Okay, but I draw the line at pom poms, and we'll have to cheer real quiet, what with it being court an' all."

"Well I didn't mean like real cheerleaders obviously Xander, you goof. I just meant we could be the support team from Sunnydale, but not from Sunnydale, cause y'know, we don't live there any more, because…" Buffy looked up at her best friend, stricken. "Xander, Sunnydale's dead."

He nodded his head. "Good." He replied emphatically.

"But…But…But…"

Xander wrapped his arms around his drunken blonde friend. "It's okay Buffy, let it out. Then we'll go see Faith and she'll make it all better." Not that he really believed that.

She nodded her head against his chest and he heard a quiet "Uh-huh" of agreement, before a car pulled around the corner, the headlights completely blinding his good eye.

* * *

Faith looked around the office with a sniff; she bet more money was spent on this guys curtain's than building the entire west wing of Stockton.

The Governor was standing at the window, looking out across the highway behind the prison, and talking on the phone. Faith walked further into the room and sat down in the straight-backed chair in front of the desk and waited.

The Big White Chief put down the phone with a muttered "Always the same people." He picked up some files he had rested on the window sill and louder said: "Please take a seat, Faith."

She scrambled up as quickly as she could, but he was already turning around. She froze halfway up and then sank slowly back to the seat. If he noticed her faux pas he didn't mention it.

"So you go to court tomorrow, Faith?" He began.

"Yes sir." She replied, fidgeting nervously with her hands in her lap.

"I believe it is expected to go well."

"Yes sir."

"So this will probably be the last time I see you."

"Yes sir."

He looked at her for a long time. "Faith, I've known you for nearly four years now and I have never heard you use the word sir before."

She looked up sharply.

"In fact if you are not careful I might think you were trying to sweet talk me."

"I'm just being respectful. Sir." She spat.

"Well it's nice to know you finally learned how to do that." The Governor smiled at her. "You're record has been quite exemplary since you came back." He flicked through a file folder. "I would much like to know what happened on your little break to cause such a turn around."

"And if I had three days, I'd tell ya." She promised. "But I don't, so I guess you'll have to wait for the movie." She smiled to take the sting out of the sarcasm.

He nodded at her. "I imagine it will be of titanic proportions."

Faith frowned. "Nah. There's no boats in it."

"I meant big, very big."

"Oh." She looked down at her clasped hands then back to him. "Can I go now?"

"Just one more thing. What can you tell me about your cell-mates little slip last night?"

"Nuthin'" Faith replied sullenly, it was after all the truth more or less.

The Governor cleared his throat before speaking again. "I had assumed it was you…"

"What? No! I didn't…" Faith protested her inocence fervently as she started to rise from her seat.

He held up a hand to silence her. "Sit down. Janey was adamant that you had nothing to do with it, in fact she sang your praises quite highly, you should be proud of her." He sighed. "However, if I get any idea that she is lying to cover for you, I will go to the appeal board and cancel any hope you have of leaving any earlier than the date currently stamped on your file. If I'm honest, I don't know why I haven't already."

"Well if that's how you feel, why don't you just go do it now?" Faith sunk lower in her chair, but her eyes remained glued to his, the fire in hers threatening to burn his out.

He smiled at her again. "No, I'll let you have your day in court and if all goes well, then you have my best wishes for the future." His face grew stern. "But remember, please, that I have been in this game for a long time and I have a lot of friends in both high and low places and if I hear your name mentioned again, in either circle, then we will be seeing each other again. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, if I get so much as a parking ticket for the rest of my life, you'll happily see me on the chair." She snarled at him.

"That's right." He nodded amiably at her. "You may go now."

She got up and made for the door without another word. She only turned back when he spoke again.

"Faith…Good luck."

She nodded at him and went through the door.

* * *

The car pulled to a stop in front of them and Xander pulled away from Buffy and walked towards the driver's door.

"Hey guys." He greeted when Willow hopped out and Kennedy came around the hood. "I'm glad you're here. We were worried we might get wet." He ran his palm over the front of his hair and the released water ran down his forehead to meet what was already there.

Kennedy chuckled, but Willow kept her frowny face going. "Get in the car Xander, we need to get home."

Xander didn't move and Buffy swayed over to stand at his side.

"Willow!" She welcomed the witch cheerfully. "Thank God you're here. We can go now. Did you remember my passport?"

"You don't need your passport Buffy." Willow spoke more gently to the Slayer than she had to Xander.

"I don't?" The blonde checked.

"No of course not, Buff, we're only going to L.A." Xander reminded her.

"We?" Asked Kennedy. "You're both going now?"

"No." Said Willow firmly. "Neither of you are going."

Xander kept quiet, but Buffy squared drunkenly up to her friend. "Yes I am, are, we are I mean."

Willow's look was clear.

Buffy continued regardless. "Well I'm going. And you can't stop me."

Willow's expression didn't waver. Xander went and got in the car, ignoring everything else.

"I'm a grown Slayer and…and resolve face isn't going to stop me." Buffy stood defiant.

"I'm not taking you to the airport." Willow informed her.

"Then I'll walk." Buffy turned on her heel, only stumbling slightly, and walked off into the rain.

"Buffy!" Willow shot a desperate glance at her girlfriend.

Kennedy heaved a big sigh and took off after Buffy at a brisk pace. The alcohol was wearing off slightly in the cold deluge which meant the blonde Slayer was walking quite quickly, but Kennedy still caught up to her before she'd gotten very far.

Walking next to the blonde she said. "Buffy. You can't do this now. Go to L.A. tomorrow if you really have to, but not tonight."

Buffy kept walking, staring straight ahead. "You don't need me. It's just vampires. I pass the duty of head Slayer on to you. Enjoy it. I'm going to support my …friend."

Kennedy shook her head, droplets fell. "No you're not. Stop being a brat and start being sensible for once in your life. If you walk to Cleveland in this, you'll die of pneumonia or something."

"Back off Kennedy, this has nothing to do with you. Go back to your girlfriend and let me get on with it." Buffy didn't spare her a glance as she strode on.

Kennedy grabbed Buffy's shoulder. "You are not going to L.A.!"

Buffy tried to shake her hand off, but it turned out that sober Slayer beat drunk Slayer, because the brunette was able to keep her hold.

"Get off me now." Buffy turned around and lashed out a fist, which Kennedy managed to dodge narrowly.

"That's it. I'm declaring you certified."

"What?" Buffy asked irritably confused.

"I'm head Slayer now, according to you, and I'm putting you under house arrest. You're not fit to be out alone." Kennedy smirked.

Buffy got up in her face. "Oh, you so are not, little girl." She told her.

Kennedy shook her head pityingly and rushed her shoulder into the blonde's middle. Buffy gave a little eep of surprise as she was lifted into the air and over the shorter Slayer's back.

"Put me down right now, you bitch." Buffy kicked and punched at the brunette's back, but Kennedy took no notice. She just held on tighter and marched back to Willow.

Once in front of the red-head she dropped the blonde to the ground. "If she tries to run again, I'll go get her, but otherwise, I'm out." Kennedy told her before climbing back into the car to talk to Xander.

Buffy jumped weakly back to her feet and Willow backed up a step when she saw her pissed expression. "I've had just about enough of her." She warned angrily, looking back at her friend, she asked. "Are you taking me to Faith or not?"

Willow's expression softened finally. "Buffy, I'm not."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think it's a good idea, on all levels." Willow took a couple of steps closer to her friend. "What's this all about, Buffy? You didn't want to go earlier."

Buffy sobbed once but got it under control. "Yes I did, Will, I just didn't think I could…or should. But now I get it. I have to go because then Faith will know I care and everything will be alright."

"She knows you care, Buffy."

"How can she? I go for one bad visit and I can't handle it so I run off to get drunk for a week. I am so not the person to be lecturing Xander." She realised. "I should have stayed…"

"I hate to be the one to say it, but she didn't want you there." The red-head said cautiously. "Isn't that why you left anyway."

Buffy waved it away. "She didn't know how to say she wanted me there, I should have just known."

"You can't go Buffy. You'll only get hurt again. Not to mention the inappropriately timed vampire rising thingie. The Slayer kids need you to look out for them. Kennedy needs you too, we all do. Please don't go."

The blonde had started to sob openly again and Willow's heart melted. She gathered her best friend in a tight hug. "It's okay Buffy; it's going to be okay. I promise."

"You…don't…know… that."

Willow hugged tighter and winced a little as the gesture was returned. "Yeah I do. I'm a witch, we have a, a thing where we know stuff."

"What if she doesn't get out, Will? What do I do then?" Buffy cried softly into Willow's neck.

Willow rubbed her friend's back, soothingly. "Then you go visit her." She replied simply. "And if you want plane company, I'm always available."

"'Cept now though, right?" Buffy bawled

"Now's not really a good time, no." Willow's knees nearly buckled as Buffy's legs went out from under her. Gripping even tighter, she managed to slow their fall to the puddle-y tarmac.

Buffy cuddled even tighter as they sat on the slick road, water seeping through their pants from below, and cried her heart out.

"S'okay, Buffy. Really it'll all be okay." The red-head tried to calm her. 'Knew I'd get wet tonight' she inwardly groaned and cringed at the damp coldness on her butt.

It took a minute for Buffy to recover herself enough to form words but Willow still couldn't understand the muffled sentence. When asked to repeat it, Buffy moved her head a little away from Willow's neck.

"I want to kill some vampires." She repeated in a growl.

* * *

Buffy sat at the kitchen table in fresh clothes. She had a towel wrapped around her wet hair and she clutched a mug of black coffee tightly. She grimaced at the bitter taste with every sip, but she took her medicine without complaint.

"So you're not going now?" Asked Vi, timidly.

Buffy just shook her head.

"Well that's good. I feel better about this knowing you're going to be there. Y'know, 'cause you got us through the last one okay."

Buffy smiled at her, trying to ignore the ache of her head. Not for the first time she was waying up the pro of being able to sober up quicker than a human, against the con of getting the hangover quicker. It was a pretty even match. Maybe the hangover thing was ahead by a head. "I'll be there, but you could do it even if I wasn't. You need to have more confidence in yourself." She told the young red-head.

Kennedy came in to the kitchen carrying an assortment of weapons. "We leave in one hour. Hopefully we'll get there before them and will be able to make some sort of ambush, but, Willow thinks they will get there early too. The ceremony Giles thinks they'll be using takes some time to set up apparently. So go get ready."

All the Slayers in the kitchen, with the exception of Buffy, started up the kitchen stairs.

Rona's answer to an unheard question drifted back down. "Yeah, she's a proper Buffy-wanna-be, now, huh?"

Kennedy shook her head. "As if." She muttered. Looking up her eyes met the blonde's. "You okay…for tonight, I mean?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah." She looked down into her mug and then looked up again. "About earlier. Thanks for what you did…"

"It was nothing."

"No, it was something, and it needed doing." Buffy paused. "If you ever do it again though, I'm putting _you_ on enforced bed-rest."

"I said 'House arrest'." Corrected Kennedy cockily.

Buffy smirked. "And I'm saying bed rest. You're a smart girl; I'm guessing you get the semantics." She looked back down at her coffee, smiling a little when she heard Kennedy huff "No way.", and leave the room.

* * *

There was a click and a light came on. Janey looked around as best she could. They were in the guards' bathroom; there were sinks along one wall and a couple of stalls. It didn't smell too pleasant. It smelled kinda like the food they served.

"Stand still and I'll let go." Said Lolitta. "After all, we want to make you feel comfortable." The dark woman stepped around to face the young blonde. "Now tell me, what did you tell the big guy about your unfortunate little accident last night?"

"Nothing." Replied Janey honestly. She knew the other two were behind her, she could hear them breathing. If she had to, she would fight to get out of here. If she ended up back in the infirmary she had no clue what Faith would do about it.

Lolitta grinned, it wasn't friendly. "Yeah well sorry sweetheart but I don't believe you."

"It's the truth."

The Italian-American sucked some air through her teeth. "And I want to believe you, I really do, but I don't…" There was a clicking noise and Janey's eyes dropped to the flick-knife pressing into her stomach. "Y'see, I don't like taking risks."

Janey felt her arms being seized from behind, she gave a half-hearted struggle but her attention stayed on the knife.

Lolitta carried on talking. "Now Faith; Faith is different. I don't mind taking the time or the risk involved in dealing with her, because, in her own pathetic little way she's worthy of it. I don't know why, maybe its chemistry." She smiled like a shark with bad teeth. "You, on the other hand, mean nothing to me, sorry but that's the way it is. You, Janey, are merely one of life's little inconveniences; something my uncle taught me how to clean up before I could use the potty, so…" She stepped even closer.

Janey's eyes went saucer-like and she struggled hard as the big woman swiftly brought the knife up to her throat. She was able to yank her arms free, but when the cold blade touched her skin she froze.

* * *

"You sure you're up to this Buff?" Xander asked as he leaned against the kitchen counters watching the girl's saddle-up.

"Well I woulda preferred a little more notice, but I work well under pressure." Buffy looked up from tying her sneakers.

"You want me to drive?"

"No Xander I need you to stay with Dawn. I don't want her in the house by herself. If we can't stop this rising thing then the vamps could own this town by sunrise. I need to know she's with someone who can get her safely out of town."

"I'm coming with you."

"Dawn I really don't think you are." Buffy directed the girls in picking up the bags of stakes. "Load them into the back with you. Make sure you fill your pockets, you can't always make it to a 'power up' spot in time." She picked up a similar bag filled with stakes, a cross bow was sticking out of the top. "You ready Willow?"

"Come on Dawn; let's leave the super heroes to do their jobs." Xander wandered back through to the living room, but Dawn stayed by the back door.

"Xander." Buffy pleaded with her friend not to make a fuss and get all needy now, if the stars were right, they really didn't have the time.

"I thought we we're gonna spend quality time together?" Said Dawn with her arms crossed.

"Quality time doesn't involve halting the spread of evil and layers of dust. Unless of course we're in you're bedroom. And by evil I mean the tide of used plates and dirty laundry and by dust; well that's pretty self explanatory."

Willow and Kennedy came down the kitchen stairs and Buffy started out the back door ahead of them.

"You shouldn't even be in my room." Dawn moaned from the step.

"And I have no desire to be in there, which is why I'm not, but Vi and Rona don't have the same luxury so clean it up." Buffy threw the weapons bag she held over the side of the truck and hopped in after it. She hunched over on the bench seat and pulled her hood up to shield herself a little from the heavy rain.

Dawn sighed. "How does she still find time to nag when she's saving the world?" She asked as Willow and Kennedy left.

"Years of perfecting her time management skills." Willow hurried around to the driver's side and climbed in.

Kennedy got in the passenger side. "She's almost retired; soon all she'll be doing is nagging you."

Dawn groaned and shut the back door.

* * *

Edna Maple was standing next to the fresh fruit stand in Boudenver's General Store, squeezing peaches to see just how fresh they really were, whilst keeping her back to Owen so he couldn't see her distrust. Headlight's turning into the street caught her eye and she looked through the window into the rain-slicked evening. "Garth."

Her husband was talking to the old shopkeeper about the price of a new carburettor for their old Buick and so involved in the conversation was he that she had to call him twice just to get his attention.

"Garth, I'm speaking to you. Look at them now."

Her husband and Owen turned to the windows just in time to see a brand new truck roll by with a bunch of girls in the back.

"What do you think they're up to now?" She asked.

"Illegal immigrants." Garth said promptly. "They're smuggling girls across the border under the cover of darkness to sell them as slaves." He lowered his voice to a conspirational whisper. "To the sex slave trade."

Edna rolled her eyes, but smiled affably as she said: "Garth, you do have some strange flights of fancy."

"How else would you explain a truck load of young girls bein' driven around like sheep?" Garth asked.

The shopkeeper looked at his watch and frowned.

* * *

Handcuffed, Faith was led back through the drab corridors to her wing. She felt let down and she didn't know why.

It's not like she expected to get a big bunch of flowers off the old guy or anything, but he'd dirtied her whole appeal somehow in one conversation. She'd have liked to dismiss what he'd said as an empty threat, but she just couldn't be sure. And Slayers were always working somewhere outside the law. Hell wasn't it even illegal to trespass in cemeteries after dark. That's why they had the big gates. She knew Buffy'd had plenty of brushes with the Sunnydale PD, and she was the good one. How much fun was getting out gonna be if she had to spend the whole time watching her tail.

The guard stopped outside a door halfway down the last corridor. "I gotta take a slash. Stand here Wilkins and don't move. Unless you wanna come in and help me hold it?"

"You wouldn't be able to handle it." Faith sneered and leaned against the wall to wait, her handcuffed wrists hanging in front of her.

He went into the rest room chuckling and the door closed behind him with a thump, followed by another thump, this one slightly muffled, and a third thump and a clatter.

Faith's head cocked at the noises. "What did he have for lunch?" She muttered to herself.

* * *

The truck drove slowly into Pleasant Creek, the headlights cutting bright tracks and making the rain-drops sparkle.

As Willow looked for the turning to the church, shapes began to move in the darkness of the trees around them.

"Will…" The hand that held the stake, gripped it harder, Kennedy's other hand readied itself on the door handle, ready to push it open.

"I see them." The witch's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel as she saw the vampires coming out of the trees. "At least we know we got the right place now."

"There's…there's…" Kennedy tried to count the massing indistinct figures, but… "…There's a lot."

Willow nodded. "Let's do something about that." She turned the steering wheel sharply left.

Outside the cab, on the bed of the truck, Buffy exchanged looks and nods with Vi and Rona and all three pulled out their stakes. There were more than what they'd thought, probably at least ten more than they'd spotted behind the Double-Meat Palace.

The new girls were nervous. Buffy could see Miranda's hands shaking, the stake she held quivering right along with them. Alison looked calm, but she was bouncing just slightly on the balls of her feet. Buffy wasn't sure if she was just eager for the fight or if the vamps had just triggered her pant-wetting reflex. Vampires had that affect. Demon's after all were big, scary looking, scaly things, who wouldn't want to kill them looking like that. Vampires could pass for human right up until they bit you. The truck swerved to the left and everyone in the back had to grab the sides to save being thrown off the truck. There were a couple of bumps in the road. 'Or until you drive over one of their friends and piss them off.' Buffy concluded as nearly one hundred yellow eyes turned their way and hissing and snarling was all around.

"We just hit someone." Said Kate. "Shouldn't we stop?" She didn't sound very convincing.

"That wasn't a someone. It was a something." Rona told her.

"A couple of somethings hopefully." Added Vi.

"Okay." Said Buffy, standing up straight again as she looked around them. Willow was taking them away from the creatures now, making to swing the truck around and play another game of bowls. "Everyone got their buddy."

Kate moved closer to the Rona and Alison stood up next to Vi. Miranda grabbed a hold of Buffy's jacket.

"Good. Cici, you're going to help Willow, right? As soon as you get a chance jump in the front. I don't know what she'll need you to do, but you probably can't do it from here."

Cici nodded nervously.

Willow had turned the truck around and was heading back into the thick of the vampires.

"Right girls this is it? When you're buddy says jump, jump!" Buffy pulled her jacket sleeve free from Miranda's fist. "Use you're clingy hand to hold another stake, it will do you more good than a handful of natural poly-blend."

Miranda took her advice and grabbed up another length of sharpened wood.

Rona and the Irish Slayer had jumped over the side of the van just before the truck ploughed into the vampires again. In the confusion of headlights and scrabbling bodies they melted into the darkness.

Willow added to the confusion by blaring the horn loudly, hurting the vamps sensitive ears, and Kennedy used the passenger door as a weapon. Repeatedly opening it and smacking it into the crowd.

As the witch pushed through the crowd, Buffy picked a vampire up over the side. She staked it before throwing it back. It showered dust over its fellows.

"Now!" Yelled Buffy, grabbing Miranda's arm and leaping over the side.

* * *

Faith had been waiting for ages outside the toilet block and the guard still hadn't come out. She moved to the door. "You fall in or something Tony?" She called loudly. There was no answer. She banged on the door. "Look dude, I know being around me must be really frustrating for ya, but this really isn't the time to be taking care of it, ya know?" She joked.

* * *

"Well would you listen to that, Janey. Sounds like it's my lucky day." Lolitta growled softly in the terrified blonde's ear. "Now I can frame her for his murder…" She nodded at the unconscious guard on the floor. "…Oh, and yours of course."

The thick set brunette pulled the sharp blade downwards across the skin of Janey's face.

Janey screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks again for all the reviews. All of the advice is greatly appreciated too. So please keep it coming._

* * *

Act Four

Faith frowned when she heard the scream, caught for a split second between running, she _so_ didn't need this shit right now, or charging to the rescue, 'cause that was what a Slayer did.

A high pitched pleading of "No please, no, no…", made up her mind for her. She knew that voice.

Her shoulder met the flimsy wood of the door as her hands pulled apart, snapping the handcuffs and the door's lock at the same time.

The first thing the Slayer's eyes settled on was the prone body of Tony before swivelling to take in the rest of the small room.

With one hand tangled in Janey's hair pulling back her head and the other holding a small but serviceable knife to the skin of the young Slayer's face, Lolitta grinned at her. The blonde's other cheek was already dripping blood from a nasty looking slice.

"Well look who's come out to play." The large woman drawled. "I guess the odds are finally high enough."

Faith stood motionless, weighing up the situation. "We'll play, bitch." She snarled. "But I warn you now, you're gonna lose."

"Faith, no!" Janey whimpered, but Faith ignored it.

"Tough talk, for someone so weak, Faithy." It was one of the minions as Faith had started to think of Lolitta's constant companions.

Lolitta took a step back, dragging Janey with her as Faith pivoted on the spot and knocked the speaker unconscious with a snap kick to the head. The woman lay sprawled in front of the door. Only Max and Janey spared her a glance. Faith and Lol kept their eyes on each other.

"Let her go and we'll walk out of here." Faith's voice was low, but still echoed around the tiled bathroom.

"No Wilkins, you don't get it. Even if your little buddy here walks out…" Lol sliced the blade quickly across Janey's chin, causing the girl to whimper again. "…which lets face it, is unlikely, you ain't. Max."

Max went from a standstill to a charge at the brunette Slayer, with a broken chair leg raised high above her head. Faith caught the metal pole as it came down and twisted her body to the right, pushing Max off balance as her charge was checked so abruptly. She brought a knee up, smashing it into Max's wrists forcing her to lose her grip on the pole before shoving the bigger woman away into the wall and turning to face Lolitta once again.

The knife blade was now poking into the skin of the Janey's throat, a tiny bubble of blood forming around it.

Snarling, Faith attacked…

* * *

They were surrounded. Buffy could see more vampires still than Slayers. There just didn't seem to be an end to their numbers. Even though wet dust coated the grass.

'How long have they been recruiting.' She wondered. 'Have they been here this whole time? Were they here before us maybe and we just never realised. No wonder the area seemed so devoid of vamp activity, it's because they've all be whiling away the hours waiting for tonight. Has there been hundreds of victims in Cleveland that we missed because we were too busy concentrating on the Hellmouth.'

Buffy stopped speculating long enough to dust three more vamps that had come to close to the truck Willow and Cici were doing something magic in. So much for only being here as back-up. There were no subs tonight; they were all on the court.

'We really have to start getting more Slayers trained and out to other places, it's not doing anyone any good to have them all cooped up here…" She thought as she continued to kick and punch her fangy foes.

"Help!"

Buffy swivelled to see Miranda getting chomped on by one of the undead uglies.

"I don't think so!" Buffy went to charge over, but the vamp dusted before she got there to reveal Kennedy behind the now even more terrified Miranda.

The black haired girl was looking pale and shaky and was staring straight ahead of her in shock.

"Miranda, get in the back of the truck." Called Buffy, ducking a flying lunge and straightening back up as the vampire sailed harmlessly over her head, bowling into another and taking them both to the soaking ground.

Miranda stayed put, not even blinking and Buffy thought it was too late; the vamp had taken too much. As she waited for the young Slayer to fall to the ground, Kennedy scooped her up from behind and deposited her in the back of the truck, quickly inspecting the wound as she did so.

A female vampire with Farrah hair jumped onto the side of the vehicle to take advantage. Without looking Kennedy kicked her backwards onto Buffy's stake.

The brunette jumped back down as the blonde coughed.

"Thanks for that." Buffy spluttered, turning back to see who was next on the dead list.

"No problem." The two short Slayers fought back to back.

Moments later, Buffy only just dodged a tooth attack on her neck by sitting down fast. "I'm really wishing I brought the scythe." She kicked her attacker backwards while she scrambled around trying to get up again.

"Well, why didn't you bring the scythe?" Kennedy had been wondering that anyway.

"'Cause I'm a moron." The blonde grunted as she staked.

Kennedy side-stepped a kick and swept the vampire's other leg out from under him. "Do you really think a moron should be responsible for the …"

"You are not having the scythe, Kennedy." Buffy calmly over-rode her.

Kennedy plunged her stake into another undead heart, grinning.

* * *

Max was up and coming for her before Faith reached Lolitta, which in retrospect was probably the only thing that stopped Janey from getting her throat slit.

As the larger woman barrelled into the dark Slayer they both tumbled to the ground. Faith landed on the bottom, with Max sprawled across her and they began rolling around, both trying to gain the upper hand. Faith was a great deal stronger than the other woman, but Max's weight was still pinning her to the scummy tiles on the floor.

Lolitta had to back step again to keep out of the way of the struggling women. She kept a tight hold on the blonde's hair, but her knife hand flayed while she sought her balance.

Janey tried to take advantage of the situation and reached up to grab Lol's wrist, but the Italian-American woman wasn't stupid. She lifted her hand higher out of the young girls reach and spun her around by her hair.

Janey felt her nose break as it impacted with the wall and blood sprayed across the tiles.

Faith couldn't get up with Max on her chest, but she lashed out with a foot, catching Lolitta on the ankle. Even as Max landed a hard punch to her cheek she kicked again. Lolitta howled, but Faith still heard the quiet snap of her ankle bone.

She could see that Lolitta had let go of Janey completely now and was clutching her ankle as if that would make the pain go away, but Janey wasn't taking the opportunity to finish her off. Instead she was looking in one of the grimy mirrors in shock. Her crooked nose looking wicked screwed, blood still leaking fast from her nostrils.

Faith managed to finally kick Max off of her and jump to a crouching position just as Lolitta recovered enough to hop a step forward and bury her knife up to the hilt in Janey's unaware back.

"NO!" Faith's shout drowned out Janey's scream.

* * *

Willow's chanting sounded eerie to Cici, even if she was one of the good guys. The front of the truck wasn't really the best place to be conducting magical rituals either. The smoke from the dribbly green candles made the interior of the cab almost unbearable, even if it wasn't choking her like normal smoke would. She would have to ask Willow why that was when this was all over.

Stuttering at first Cici read through her part of the Latin spell, thankful for the first time ever that her school actually taught Latin and so it was relatively easy for her. Although not one of the phrases she was currently reading had ever been on the syllabus.

The auburn haired girl sat back as the red-head's eyes flashed black and her voice went deeper than she'd heard before.

"Admitto Circumretio Abludo Icere Iectum,

Adligo Theea."

Cici was aware of something green rushing outwards from somewhere between the witch and herself. It continued growing larger nearly as fast as light, taking no heed of the doors of the truck or anything else in its way. If she squinted and turned her head to the side she could see it still expanding beyond the battle raging outside the vehicle and into the trees.

The young Slayer was aware that she couldn't really see anything, there was nothing there to see, but she knew it was there just the same. She was feeling it on some deeper level than plain sight or touch would allow.

"I'd never realised Latin could be so fascinating." She remarked.

The witch sighed heavily before looking up at her. Her eyes and voice were back to normal when she spoke. "That should stop anything rising tonight, with any luck. The net will block any energy trying sneak out while we're not looking, or are looking, or at all."

"So we're safe?" Cici asked relieved.

It was short lived. Willow scrunched her face up a little. "From anything climbing out of the Hellmouth, yes, for as long as the spell lasts anyway – which will probably be a few hours…hopefully. From the bloodsucking fiends outside – no."

Cici nodded slowly and turned to look out of the window. "I suppose I should go and help." She didn't sound too sure about it.

Willow tried to make her feel better about it. "I'm going to help too." She buzzed down the driver's window and after a moments concentration she held her hand out into the rain and muttered. "Deflagro!"

A fire ball shot from the tips of Willow's fingers and headed for the nearest vampire, only to sizzle out in the rain before it reached its target. Willow quickly buzzed her window back up.

"Or not." She apologised.

Cici gave her a smile and reached down to pull a sword out of the weapons bag at her feet. They had taught fencing at her old school too. Although the swords they'd used there might as well have been made of cardboard compared to this one.

"Here goes nothing." She told Willow and left the dry safety of the truck.

* * *

Faith was on her feet as Janey sank to her knees. She was moving forwards as Janey's hands gripped the sink, knuckles white. She was letting fly with a full Slayer-strength punch at Lomita's head as Janey's chin came to rest between them on the dirty ceramic.

Lol just happened to turn from viciously grinning at the younger Slayer in time to see the fist coming and with a little cry of alarm she fell backwards, the only thing that stopped her head from leaving her shoulders.

The punch grazed her cheek and she yelled. "Max!" as she tried to duck back out of the way of Faith's wrath. The look on the dark Slayer's face was chilling her to the bone.

Max was behind Faith and grabbed her around the neck, trying for a choke hold, but Faith was too pissed to play nice. She rammed her elbow into Max's stomach, causing her to instantly lose her hold and double over. Faith followed that up by spinning around and kicking the bigger woman in the teeth, more than a few fell to the floor covered in blood.

"You bitsh!"

Max's voice was distorted now but Faith didn't care to listen anyway, with another kick to the stomach she sent Max flying into the wall and followed up with a fist to the side of the head. Max slid to the floor unconscious.

Faith spun back to Lolitta in time to see her making her way around the fallen guard to the door. She leapt across Tony herself to land in the way.

"Going somewhere?" She asked as Lolitta looked up, a scared snarl on her face. "I thought you wanted to play?"

Lolitta lashed out, hoping to catch Faith by surprise with the sudden attack, but she hadn't reckoned on Slayer senses and speed. Without even looking at the fist coming towards her, Faith caught it…and crushed it.

Lolitta screamed.

"Uh uh uh." Faith scolded. "We don't want any nosiness, do we?" Without waiting for an answer she punched Lol in the jaw, shattering it and effectively ending the scream. "That's better, don't you think?"

Lol shook her head making moaning sounds and trying to back away, but Faith had a tight grip on her upper arm, keeping her on the spot.

"You broke my friend's nose." She head butted Lolitta hard in the face and smiled. "Turnabout's fair play right?" She head butted her again, loving the fact that all the large woman could do was gurgle and moan her pain. It was better than using a gag, 'cause then you couldn't hear anything.

Faith didn't even look over at Janey as she said. "I think you might have killed her too." She punched Lol hard in the gut. "Oh this doesn't look very good for our villain now, does it?" She wrapped her hand in the front of Lol's shirt and used it for leverage to batter her head into the wall tiles before pulling her close again. "But then again, the villain is supposed to die, right?"

Lol just stared back, wide-eyed and petrified.

On the other side of the room, un-noticed by Faith, Janey's breathing was coming quick and hard and she had to stop it before she passed out or hyperventilated. She concentrated on the cool ceramic under her fingers, rhythmically squeezing and letting go until she managed to calm herself down.

She could hear the fight going on behind her, but she couldn't pay attention to it yet. She needed to sort herself out first. And do something about the burning fire sensation in her lower back.

Not bothering to get to her feet yet, she gingerly reached around with one hand and felt for the handle of the knife. She winced in pain as it dug in deeper as she fumbled with it for a good hold and her other fingers clenched the sink even tighter.

"This is going to hurt like a mother." She muttered to herself before gritting her teeth and pulling sharply.

The blade slid out cleanly and Janey stifled her scream by biting her lip until it bled. It wasn't important; her mouth was already full of the taste of blood from her broken nose.

Kneeling there a little longer she listened to Faith's taunts and knew she had to act now or it would be too late.

Swearing under her breath all the way, she slowly and unsteadily pulled herself upright and turned to see the action.

Shocked one too many times, she turned again, oblivious to the fiery pain in her back and vomited into the sink.

* * *

Alison and Kate had somehow managed to get cornered between the church wall and a bunch of vampires.

"Do you think it will be like this all the time?" Asked Kate, in her soft Irish lilt as she hacked and slashed with her sword, only doing damage with every third stroke or so, it seemed.

"You mean like a new monster, or monsters, to fight every week, monotonously, for the rest of our lives." Alison grunted, slamming her stake into a vampire's chest. Her eyes went wide when it didn't dust.

Kate brought her sword around again and beheaded it in a smooth swing.

"Probably." Alison coughed as dust went up her nose. "And thanks."

"You're welcome, although I was aiming for this one." Kate slashed again at a vamp on her other side.

Alison laughed and darted forward, slamming her stake in again. This one dusted just like the manual said it should. "Score." Coughed the blonde.

"At least we get to go home for the summer." Said Kate, looking on the bright side. "That's something to look forward too."

"Doubt I'll bother." Alison responded with a little shrug. "Look out, here's another."

* * *

"Faith: stop! Stop. Faith! Get off of her!":

It took a few more punches and kicks before the red-haze lifted enough for Faith to make out who was calling her. She ignored it anyway and shoved the semi-conscious Lolitta up against the wall again and resumed punching her all over. She was deliberately staying away from her head to keep her in the game for as long as possible.

"Faith!" Hands clutched her shoulders and tried to drag her backwards, but she turned and pushed Janey back. The blonde tripped over the still out of it guard and landed on her butt, bringing fresh pain from her stab wound she never could have imagined and never wanted to experience again.

For a second it was a contest to see whether she would pass out or throw-up first, but once again she got it under control and bit by bit got to her feet.

Moving towards, well it wasn't a fight anymore; the bully couldn't even stand up. Faith had to keep lifting her up to punch her. Janey tried again. "Faith, leave her alone. You'll kill her!"

"She killed you!" Faith ground out between blows.

Janey got an arm around the dark Slayer's neck and started to forcefully pull her backwards. "No she didn't. I'm here. How can I be dead if I'm talking to you?"

"Dead people talk all the time." Faith assured just as the young blonde managed to pull her off balance. Lolitta was sliding down the wall again and Faith aimed a kick at her head, smacking it back into the tiles and finally knocking her out.

Once the Italian-American was slumped on the floor unconscious the fight left Faith in an instant. She stared at the bloody, broken mess she had caused.

She took a step back, bumping into Janey, who released her but stayed by her side. "She had it coming." The brunette insisted, but her words were weak and hollow. She shook her head from side to side. "She pushed and pushed and…"

Faith took another step back and tripped over. She fell on her ass on the other side of Max and looked at her. Max's forehead was still bleeding from being run into the wall and her arm was lying at a funny, sickening angle.

"I…I…They…" Tears made tracks in the blood on Faith's face; none of it was her own. Still on her ass she scooted backwards until her back met the wall and her gaze darted frantically between Lolitta and her two lifeless lackeys.

Janey squatted down next to her painfully and put a hand on her arm. "Faith, its okay."

Faith shook her head slowly. "No it's not." She pushed the blonde away roughly. "How in the hell can this be okay?" She shouted through her tears.

Janey backed away, getting pushed hurt, and stood up. She went quickly to the door and locked it. Although if anyone had heard the fight they obviously weren't very interested. Going back to the sinks she wet a paper towel and crouched down next to the dark Slayer again.

At first when she reached out to wipe at the blood on Faith's face, the older Slayer jerked her head back angrily and Janey thought she was about to get punched herself. Which, seeing the damage Faith was capable of, wasn't a nice thought at all. Then Faith lowered her shoulder, went back to staring at Lolitta and allowed Janey to clean her up.

"Guess I'll be around for a while after all." Faith murmured.

Janey just carried on cleaning.

* * *

Vi took aim with her cross-bow and high-fived with Kennedy as her target poofed. Rona just smirked at them as she sliced through a vamp's leg sending it screaming to the ground. As it tried to get back up she used her axe to chop off its head.

Buffy grinned as she parried a vamp's punches. "Oh to be a young Slayer again." She called to Willow who was busy tending to Miranda in the bed of the truck.

Willow chuckled, then applauded as Buffy finally tired of playing, caught the vamp by the hair and twisted his head off. "Then again, you probably couldn't do that as a young Slayer." She reasoned.

"Maturity does have its perks." Buffy agreed as she lifted a charging vamp high into the air and upside down. She held him like that while she carried on talking. "Not the wrinkles and that, but y'know, staying in being all responsible gave me plenty of time to watch wrestling with Xander." She pile-drived the vamp into the ground, snapping his neck, then leaned down and staked him. "Okay I admit I was reaching with that one." She continued off of Willow's look of confusion. "But you try coming up with a new witty one liner every time you kill something."

The rain stopped and Buffy looked upwards. "Finally." Then she realised that nothing had taken advantage of her distraction. "Hey where did they all go?"

Willow stood up in the back of the truck. "I don't know, maybe we killed them all. You know, deader."

Kennedy, Vi and Rona came over grinning.

"Did they run off?" Buffy asked them.

"Didn't see any runnin'" Said Rona, hefting her axe over one shoulder.

"I think we got them all." Agreed Vi.

Cici was suddenly thrown into view from the other side of the truck and all four Slayers rushed to help, but before they could get there a vampire jumped after her. Only to find itself impaled on her rather large sword. It didn't kill it, but it did stop the vampire from getting any closer to her.

Her muscles, already well defined from years of horse riding, were standing out as she used all her extra strength to keep the sword blade upright.

Buffy reached the pair first and pulled him up and off the sword and thrust him to side without looking. As she pulled Cici to her feet they heard the whooshing sound of him exploding by Kennedy's hand.

Alison and Kate came running up to the truck. "We saw Miranda get bit. Is everyone okay?" Alison asked, sounding panic-attacky. This was unusual for her, as far as Buffy knew.

"I'm fine." Miranda sat up weakly and looked over the edge of the truck. "It just hurts."

"You were lucky. He only got a mouthful." Willow beamed at Kennedy. "Thanks to my girl."

Kennedy smiled back, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

* * *

Janey didn't know how she had managed to get her mentor back to their shared cell without arousing suspicion, but thankfully she had.

After cleaning the blood from the dark Slayer's hands and face, she'd stripped the prison grey sweatshirt from Max's still unconscious body and made Faith put it on over her own. That managed to hide the bloodstains on her top.

Faith had followed her instructions quickly and without question, without even seeming to realise she was.

After cleaning herself up Janey checked Tony's pulse. It was strong even though he hadn't come around yet, so at least Lolitta hadn't killed him like she'd threatened. She used the keys hanging from his belt to unlock the metal bracelets still attached to Faith's wrist's and hid them in the top of one of the toilets. T.V. was educational, despite what her parents said.

The corridor outside the restroom was deserted, but that wasn't surprising – at this time of day no guards had any reason to be down here unless they were escorting prisoners to the Governor's wing, and that wasn't a common occurrence despite her and Faith both going that day.

At the gate at the end, Janey waited nervously for it to be unlocked, expecting at any moment to be questioned on why they weren't with a guard.

It was Ruby who opened the gate and ushered them impatiently through, she didn't look all that suspicious as she slammed the gate closed, probably because she didn't much care.

Faith nearly blew it all in that moment. When Ruby turned from re-locking the gate the dark Slayer was still standing in front of her, mouth opening and closing, the words she wanted to say stuck in the back of her throat.

"I…" She managed.

Janey stood there worrying, wanting to drag Faith away but not wanting to draw attention to them.

"Come on. Spit it out Wilkins if you got something to say. Otherwise get out of my sight, the pair of you." Ruby ordered.

Faith looked down at her feet and then away across the room before looking at the guard again. "Uh…nothin' I guess."

After that little heart attack they'd made it back to the cell without further incident.

Which was where they were now. Faith sat on the floor against a wall, staring into space, bruised and cut knuckles flexing constantly.

Janey was sat on her bunk watching Faith watch nothing.

* * *

"Okay, well I'm cold and wet and just about ready to go home." Buffy decided looking around at the others.

There was a chorus of agreement.

"A few of us should probably stay here to guard the Hellmouth." Said Willow. "I don't know how long my spell will bind its power and we don't know how many vamps survived."

There were a few groans to that. "Do we have to?" Asked Buffy. She held up her hands before anyone could answer her. "No, no, I know you're right. The last thing we need is to go through all this just to have the demon Lord Thing rise as we drive off. How many do you think, Will?"

The red-head shrugged. "Doesn't have to be many, if you see anything, just call the house and we can all come back out."

"Okay, well I'll stay." Offered Kennedy, she grabbed a bag of weapons out of the back of the truck and pulled a crossbow from it.

"Me too." Said Rona, leaning on her axe. "Call me crazy, but it's actually nice to feel a little cold and wet for a change, after a couple of months of scorching heat."

"You're crazy." Buffy dead-panned.

"I never was a So-Cal chick like you; I'm not scared of a little weather." Rona responded.

Buffy chuckled, not rising to the bait. "Fair enough."

"I'll stay." Offered Alison. "I could get used to this monster fighting." She twirled a stake between her fingers and dropped it. "And I obviously need the practice." She continued off of everyone's smirks.

"I'll stay too, then." Said Kate, pushing her wet, dishevelled curls out of her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Asked Buffy. "You don't have too. We only really need four of us, one for each side of the church."

Kate nodded. "I'm sure. If this is my calling, then I might as well embrace it. If a jobs worth doing and all that; and I know this one is."

Buffy smiled at her. "And I think you'll be great at it." She told the Irish girl sincerely.

"Well B…uffy, you might as well go back to the house." Said Kennedy, catching her slip just a second to late. She didn't mean to do it. "Like you said, four will be enough and you are retired." Busying herself with loading her crossbow, she nonchalantly added. "Go and polish your scythe or something." Her voice betrayed her smirk.

Buffy glared at her, but a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. After an inner debate on whether to make something out of it she just nodded again. "Okay, thanks I will."

Willow shook her head at her girlfriend and gave her a goodbye kiss. Kennedy grinned and shrugged.

Vi and Cici jumped into the back of the truck with Miranda, who was still looking a little pale and shaky and Willow got in the drivers seat.

Buffy turned back to the small brunette Slayer before she got in the passenger seat. "Kenny, don't so anything rash. Any more than you can handle, phone straight away, okay. I think we've nipped the demon in its bud, but just in case – Be careful."

"Understood." Said Kennedy with a little nod and began directing the other three girls to where she wanted them.

* * *

"So are we going to talk about it or just sit here in silence until the dinner bell?" Janey finally broke the half hour silence.

"There's nothing to talk about." Faith answered in a low voice not looking at the blonde.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well you could have fooled me."

"I'm a good actress."

"Faith." Janey began quietly. "What you did in the bathroom wasn't avoidable…"

Faith started laughing but there was no humour in it.

"…Not beating Lolitta to a bloody pulp, that was going too far, but if you hadn't done something…I'd be dead by now, and so would that guard. You saved our lives and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing."

"If it wasn't for me your life wouldn't have been in danger in the first place." Countered Faith.

It was Janey's turn to laugh. "You really think Lolitta and her cronies only turned homicidal because of you. Get over yourself."

Faith looked up shocked.

"Maybe it wouldn't have been me if she didn't have a grudge against you, but it would have been somebody else, most likely someone who wasn't a Slayer and couldn't handle getting stabbed in the back."

"J, shit, I forgot." Faith jumped to her feet and made her way to the blonde's bunk. "How is it? Let me look."

Janey stood and turned, allowing Faith to lift her shirt to inspect the wound. "Hurts like a bitch, but I'm still…ow…here."

Faith looked at it carefully. "It's not deep, you're lucky it was only a small blade, and it didn't go anywhere important…"

"Tell that to my skin." Janey grimaced around a strained smile as her mentor gently ran a damp wash-cloth over it to clean up the blood.

"I thought that bitch was supposed to be some kind of professional killer, I could stab someone better than this."

"I'm totally glad she couldn't." Said Janey, sitting back down once Faith had finished.

Faith slumped back down on her own bed and drew her knees up to rest her chin on them, her arms wrapped around her shins. "I lost it there, J. If it hadn't been for you, I'da killed her. Who's to say I didn't anyway. She musta lost enough blood. How can I go to court tomorrow knowing I'm still capable of that? I should be locked up."

"I don't care if you killed her." Said Janey fiercely. "She had it coming."

"Janey, she's human…I've crossed that line once, I can't do it again."

"No she's not." Janey remembered back to her sedative induced nightmares. "She may not be a vampire or a, a monster in the fairytale sense…" She paused while she thought about that sentence. "…Or real sense. But she wasn't, isn't human. A human being doesn't kill people for fun, only a monster does that."

Faith shook her head, smiling darkly. "People used to say that about me once."

Janey didn't have an answer for that.

Faith started to get up. "I suppose I should go and tell someone I've been a bad doggy again and still need to be caged. Gunn'll need a head's up too. Damn, he's gonna be pissed at me."

"Faith, no! You have a chance of being released tomorrow. Wasn't it you who said that you could make more amends for your past on the outside than on the inside. That hasn't changed. If you feel so guilty for kicking that scum-buckets butt, get out there and make amends for it, by helping the people who need it."

Faith smiled genuinely, a little surprised by Janey's outburst. "Anyone would think you wanted rid of me."

Janey smiled back. "I do."

A loud, insistent buzzing sound startled them both.

"That's not the dinner bell." Observed Janey.

Faith frowned. "No, it's a shake. They must have found them. Guess it's out of my hands now." She looked down at the stolen sweater. Her own blood-splattered one was still beneath it. Providing they didn't do any strip searches there was no reason anyone would know. "You don't say a word, got it." She told Janey, who was looking scared stiff all over again. "They find out you tried to hide it, you'll be in as much trouble as me.

"Get to the back of the cell!" Yelled a guard from the other side of the door.

Both Faith and Janey did as they were told and the door was opened.

Two guards, Ruby and some new young guy, came in. The guy started pulling the cell apart, probably looking for whatever kind of weapon could do that much damage. Faith could hear similar going on all the way down the halls, mingled with the inmates' disgruntled protests and the guards barked orders.

Ruby stopped in front of them. "You girls know anything you wanna tell me?" She asked.

"About what?" Janey shot back.

Faith turned her head and glared at her, but she had to admit the kid had a pair on her.

"Seems we've had some attacks in one of the restrooms. Lolitta, Max and Sadie were beaten up and unconscious and so was one of the guards, Tony. Ring any bells?"

Faith looked at Ruby confused. She'd seen them in that very corridor, hell she'd been the one to let them out of the corridor, when they were alone and unsupervised and had no reason to be down there together. Why was the guard playing dumb?

Tentatively she shook her head and fiddled with the waistband of the ill-gotten sweatshirt.

Ruby's eyes dropped to Faith's hands and took in their battered appearance, before meeting her eyes again. "No, neither has anyone else, surprise, surprise."

The male guard had finished ransacking the cell and was stood by the door waiting for further instructions from Ruby. He hadn't found anything. Faith had stopped keeping stuff she wasn't meant to have the day she and Wesley had jumped from a window together.

Ruby shook her head in resignation at the other guard and waved him out of the cell. "You hear anything you think I'll wanna know, come and tell me. Personally I think that psycho waste-of-space finally picked on someone she couldn't handle. You believe in karma, Faith."

Faith couldn't answer because she was too busy fighting the urge to grin, or laugh, or do a little happy dance, or maybe all three.

Ruby continued. "Anyway, good luck tomorrow, although I doubt you'll need it with Wolfram and Hart running things, the bastards." She winked at Faith, whose mouth dropped open, and turned to Janey. "There's plenty more Lol's in here, kid, watch your back, yeah." And then she turned and left.

Faith turned to Janey as the cell door slammed shut and was locked – standard procedure for any cell that had already been checked – her eyes bugged and mouth still hanging open.

"Did that shit really just happen?"

Janey looked around at their messy cell. "Yep. I guess you can't go own up now, can you. Not unless you want to make her mad."

Faith nodded. "Besides it would be rude or something, right?"

Janey grinned and Faith grinned back.

Slowly it disappeared. "But what if it happens again, J. What if I lose control like that and there isn't someone there to stop me. Maybe I shouldn't be getting out."

Janey groaned. "Not again."

"Okay, maybe I should be getting out, but maybe I shouldn't be going back to the Scoobies. Not until I know I can control it. I've put them through the whole psychotic Slayer thing once; I don't wanna do it again."

"You _can _control it. They were bullying you for how long before you snapped, and then you only snapped because they were holding a knife to my throat." Replied Janey, exasperated.

"Yeah, well what if I enjoyed snapping?" Faith almost whispered. It wasn't something she wanted to admit, even to herself, but she knew she had too. The joy of rage, of feeling bones snap because she said so, even the red haze that descended blocking out everything but the feel of fist meeting soft flesh. If she ever wanted to be better, she knew she had to face up to it, and damn it, she did want to be better.

"So go get some therapy." Said Janey simply.

Faith chuckled. "You make it sound so simple."

The blonde shrugged. "And you make it sound so hard. Slice it down the middle and it'll be like everything else that's worth it." She looked hard at the brunette. "If it is worth it, that is?"

Faith nodded. "It is."

"Well then concentrate on getting out tomorrow, and then worry about what you're going to do next. If you don't want to go see Buffy and her friends, then no one can make you."

Faith lay back on her bunk and stared up at the grey stone ceiling. Not go and see B, was that really an option, and if so, was it one she could even consider.

* * *

Mellusa stood in the trees, an umbrella held over her head to stop the drips, as she watched the proceedings in front of her.

So there really was now an army of Slayers. She'd heard the rumours of course, but it sounded impossible. With her years of experience she should have known that there were very few things that were impossible.

She wondered how they had managed it, and who had managed it. Surely the Watcher's Council would never have had the means to change the world in such a way.

Either way, it was good to finally know for sure. It wouldn't have hurt to learn this another night, but no mind. In a hundred years she would have chance again to raise her beloved, and meanwhile, she quite enjoyed being single.

More annoying was the loss of all her vampires. She had spent months amassing her own army, going so far as to sire many of them herself to be sure to have enough for the sacrifice. She wasn't keen on the company of other vampires, uncouth and undisciplined most of them, but they were useful from time to time. Tonight, even if the Slayer's hadn't intervened, Jupitus would have needed the blood of fifty undead to complete his raising. Not that her minions had known their role, they just followed her blindly. Well they had until they were dusted.

Her human features were at the fore now and when she smiled it truly was beautiful. Her trip to this tiny little place didn't have to be a complete waste. There was an old friend who lived somewhere in this small corner of the world, she would find him and pay him a visit. He would be glad to see her, she was sure.

"But first…" She decided, "…one for the road." She made a simple sign in the air with her fingertip and walked forward.

* * *

Kate was pacing back and forth along the west wall of the church trying to keep warm and regretting a little that she'd offered to stay. The rain may have stopped, but her clothes were still damp and the temperature out here was cold after midnight.

She sensed someone behind her and spun around quickly, stake raised, but it was just Alison doing her own pacing along the north wall. The blonde Slayer laughed at Kate's nervousness and the Irish girl smiled back.

"Only a few hours 'til sunrise." Alison called over buoyantly before disappearing back behind the church.

Kate nodded, it wasn't that bad really, she supposed. After all she had a mission here, a destiny, which was more interesting that studying for her exams and baby-sitting her little brothers. Not that she didn't miss the hyperactive terrors, but there were other…

A hand covered her mouth from behind before she had time to think of screaming, another pulled at the collar of her wind-breaker – tearing it. Kate's eyes went wide as she felt the twin pricks in her neck and she tried to struggle, but she was held fast.

Her struggles calmed as her blood was pulled from her neck; her eyes glazed over and her head lolled to one side. She could hear a ringing in her ears and was looking for the light as the last of her life force was sucked from her.

And then she was gone.

Mellusa gently laid the body onto the wet grass and closed its eyes.

"Pleasant dreams little one." She whispered to the corpse, after licking her lips.

She walked back into the trees and under the cover of them; she waved a hand and became visible once more.

"Mmm. It's been too long." She said to herself as she walked. "Since I last tasted the blood of a Slayer. I will not leave it so long before the next time.

* * *

The kitchen was the only room in the house still lit. Buffy and Willow were staying up in case Kennedy phoned for back-up, but so far there had been no alarms. They sat drinking cocoa and talking quietly.

"So you didn't know the spell had worked when you yelled at him?" Buffy was asking.

"Well no, but I was kinda preoccupied with my eyebrows at the time." Willow shrugged.

Buffy licked foam from her upper lip. "I get that. Totally understandable."

"And he was being such a butthead about it." Willow shook her head slightly. "I want to help him through this Buffy, but he won't let me."

Buffy sighed. "I know. I tried to talk to him last night, but he just kept shutting me down."

"So what do we do?"

Buffy half-smiled. "I guess we just have to keep trying until he breaks."

Willow nodded. "And what about you? Still want to go to L.A.?"

The blonde chuckled. "No. Well yeah, but I won't. I can't."

"Why not? Apocalypse averted again. Maybe we can get you on one of those really fast planes in the morning and you can zoom there in time for the appeal."

Buffy considered it for a split second, and then shook her head. "She doesn't want me there, Will. I have to face the fact that if anything is going to happen it has to be on her terms, at least until she gets here, if she gets here. If I go being all clingy girlfriendy now she'll probably just head for the hills without even giving us a chance. I can't risk that."

Willow smiled. "Well I think that's very mature, Buff. Let her come to you and see what she's missing."

"That's the plan." The blonde took a sip of her cocoa. "I just wish I knew if she was actually coming or not. I mean I think she is, I've got this feeling in my gut, but I'm pretty sure the medical term for it is 'wishful thinking'."

Willow smiled sympathetically. "I guess it's just a case of waiting and seeing."

Buffy nodded. "And that's the part I'm not liking. As soon as Giles phones with the verdict I can brace myself for her arrival, or I can go get that Intra-Air season ticket."

"Huh?" The red-head's brow scrunched.

Buffy smiled softly. "Never mind. Anyway let's talk of happier, if no less confusing things, how goes your love-life."

Willow grinned. "Great actually, so I'm kinda just waiting for the anvil to drop on one of us."

"And she's okay with you looking for Oz?"

The witch nodded vigorously. "Totally one hundred percent. Unless she's a really good liar." She frowned. "Is she…A really good liar, I mean?"

Buffy shook her head. "I don't think so Will. She doesn't seem like the type to lie about something like that. I mean if she was pissed about you looking for your ex, I think she'd just come out and say it."

"Yeah me too, and it's not like I want to rekindle anything, I'm happy with Kenny, it's just if Oz is out there somewhere, nearby, I want to see him. He's still Oz, ya know?"

"Yeah I know. It's the same with Angel, I may not be in love with him anymore, but he'll always have a piece of my heart." Buffy smiled softly. "So how are you getting on with finding him? Made any more progress now you don't have to hide it?"

Willow shook her head and got up to make more cocoa, her socked feet slipped a little on the newly polished floor making her smile. "Not so much. I'm pretty sure he's in the area, or at least this part of the country. 'Dingo's Ate My Baby' played a gig at a club in Detroit a month back and Oz played a couple of guest sets on lead guitar. There was a big woohoo about it on their website."

"So that narrows it down some then, can't you do a locator spell? We can do it now, while it's quiet." Buffy accepted her fresh mug from her friend, looking up all eager.

Willow shook her head. "I already tried, I think the wolf charms he wears are maybe blocking it and anyway there will be no more spell-casting tonight."

"You have a magic curfew now?" The blonde smirked. "Wow, Giles really is getting strict."

Willow laughed. "No I'm just all tapped out for one night. The binding spell took a lot of energy and with the few mis-casts…"

"Or not." Added Buffy.

"…or not, I'm pretty drained. I can only use energy I've created myself, that's safe. It's when I start drawing on power that doesn't belong to me that things have a tendency of going bad. It's all about balance and respect for my gift. Because it is a gift and for a long time I didn't see that. I thought I mastered the power; that I could bend it to my will, control it, but it was the other way around. Now I respect that this was a gift that some higher power gave me to help me help you fight evil. If anything good is to come from my power then I have to work with it. Not as its master or as its slave, but as its… equal isn't the right word, but I'm tired and can't think of another one."

"Oh…You realise I only understood about half of that right?" Buffy asked.

"That's okay. I don't understand it all myself yet, but Giles is helping a lot."

"Yeah he is pretty cool isn't he?" Agreed Buffy with a fond smile.

"Always been the one saying it." Willow slid her feet over the cool tiles under her chair.

Buffy giggled. "Its nice, don't you think, that I met you and Xander and then we met Giles and he's been like this big guiding light for both of us."

Willow frowned. "Yeah, I kind of marred it by trying to kill him that one time though."

"I've punched him a few times, I mean only when I had to but still, I bet it pissed him off."

Willow grinned at her best friend, but it quickly turned back to a frown. "Maybe Xander would be better if he had a big guiding Giles light?" She pondered.

"But he does." Buffy countered.

Both women fell into silence, thinking about Xander.

After a while Willow said: "Maybe he doesn't know it yet."

* * *

Xander sat alone in the training barn painting the dorm barn shutters and re-painting the ones Goorzar had messed with the day before. With four of the girl's still out at that Pleasant Creek place the dorm wasn't being used tonight, but it would be nice to get them fixed on tomorrow.

He knew the others were back, he'd heard the truck pull up anyway, but Dawn still poked her head in the door to see if he wanted to come in and hear of the adventures with her and Andrew. He hadn't so she'd gone back to the house without him.

Finally he finished the last one and propped it against the wall to dry. He reached into a cooler he'd placed in the corner out of the way and grabbed a beer. He opened it and looked at it for a long time before swallowing any. Putting it on his work bench he picked up a can of white paint from the floor and prised the lid off with a screw driver.

Taking the can, a paint brush and his beer to the far wall he began to paint.

* * *

"Buffy, shhh, you'll get us in trouble." Giggled Willow.

"I'll get us in trouble? It was your idea." Buffy giggled back.

"I'm not the one saying wheeee every time."

"Sorry, I think one of those green cocktails is still lingering." Buffy apologised, still laughing. "One more time?"

Willow nodded and they both rushed to the end of the hallway.

"As long as Dawn doesn't see, or I'll never hear the end of it." Panted the Slayer. "On three…"

After the count of three the two of them ran a couple of steps before letting their momentum slide them across the polished floor, clutching each others shirt sleeves. They're legs got entangled as they flew through the kitchen doorway and landed them both in a giggling heap on the floor.

"I think I broke something." Willow wheezed when she could breathe again.

* * *

The day had dawned bright and clear and Faith could testify to that in court if she had to because she'd been awake and staring through the bars of her window when it had happened. She just wished she was going to court over something so simple.

The van had come and taken her away to the court house where she'd been frog-marched to a tiny featureless room by an obviously over-worked guard. She wasn't in there long before Gunn appeared.

"Nervous?" He asked.

She tried to smile, it looked scary. "Its not like I haven't done this before, but it didn't matter then. I knew I was going to prison, this time I have no idea how it's going to go down."

"Just relax, answer the questions you're asked, try not to piss anyone off and you'll be fine."

She didn't believe him but she'd done as he'd advised, apart from the relaxing part.

Angel and Giles had both done their parts and made her sound way better than she deserved too. She'd have to buy them both a beer if she got the chance. The shrink woman had stood up and said a bunch a stuff Faith didn't understand, but Gunn had whispered in her ear afterwards that he thought the judge was impressed.

Faith just figured Gunn was impressed; she was a nice looking lady.

The district attorney had stood up and asked loads of questions and then brought in his own people to take the stand. There was only two and only one was a shock.

Steve, her ex from how many years ago. He took the stand and muttered about how she'd always been bad, how she used to steal and lie and do anything she could to get what she wanted, no matter who got hurt in the way. Which was exactly what she had been like back in Boston between her mother dying and her Watcher taking her in. So had every other kid she'd run with back then. Up on the stand thingy she was watching Steve do it right now. She almost laughed, but Gunn shot her a warning look and she settled for biting her lip.

She wondered how much he was getting paid for standing up there. She wondered if it had only been enough to by coke instead of the good stuff he liked, certainly looked like it with the way he kept rubbing his red nose. She wondered when he'd last had a bath and what dead body he'd robbed his ill-fitting suit from. Mostly she wondered how he hadn't ended up dead yet.

Then it was over and the jury had left the room to decide on their verdict and Faith didn't realise it was possible to sweat this much with out dying of dehydration. She scanned the small amount of people up in the gallery for the hundredth time. Lorne was up there and so were Fred and Wesley, plus a smattering of people whose idea of good entertainment was watching peoples lives go down the pan.

Faith really thought she would have come, even though she'd told her not too. Since when did Buffy do as she was told, especially by her? 'Guess she really took what I said to heart.' She thought looking back down at her moist hands. Which was good, right? Still, it brought up more questions about what to do next if she was to walk out of here.

She'd had no contact with B at all since she'd told her to go home to Cleveland and get on with her life. Maybe she'd done just that, maybe she'd already moved on, met someone else, and forgotten about her. She'd done it once before.

Big question: Could she go back to Cleveland just to watch Buffy hanging off some other guy, or girl, she didn't know? She didn't have time to think it through because the jury was coming back.

Her heart rate picked up. Crap, this was it.

The Judge had been talking for ten minutes already and Faith was trying to follow it, she really was, but it wasn't easy. The jury had found her not guilty of murder, but apparently that wasn't enough to let her go.

"…You made some very poor decisions that not only ruined your own life, but also those of others, and for that you must still be held accountable and complete the remainder of your sentence…"

Faith's face fell and she wanted to slump back in her chair but she couldn't because she had to stand up. Although why she had to behave now was beyond her. It was over; she could do what she liked.

"…However, I am lessening the charge to manslaughter by coercion and re-sentencing you to five years imprisonment, with a further three months added due to your little sabbatical. Time already served and good behaviour to be taken into account".

The Judge stood from his bench and gathered his papers, almost as an after-thought he added. "Court dismissed."

Everyone hurried to politely stand as he swept out of the room, except Faith who finally gave into the desire to fall back in her chair.

"So that's good then, right?" She asked Gunn when he turned to smile at her. "I mean my time got dropped from twenty years to five so we did good." Her voice was flat.

"Yeah, I'd have said it was okay." Gunn dead-panned but he was still smiling.

Faith nodded to herself. "Only five more years, I can do that. Hell I nearly done that already, same again won't be so hard." She convinced herself.

Gunn was looking at her like she was a little crazy and he still hadn't lost that grin, it was starting to annoy her.

"Faith what are you talking about? We won. In fact we got the jackpot." Seeing her confused look he did some quick calculations in his head. "You're free as of a week next Tuesday. Or on parole anyway."

Faith's jaw had dropped and hit the desk with a thump, or so it felt. She stared at her lawyer a slow grin growing as she asked with her usual finesse.

"You've got to beshitting me?"

The End.

Tbc in Watcher Looking At?


End file.
